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If confirmed, that means the Ukrainians have penetrated as deep as 15 miles into territory the Russians still held as recently as last week. Worse for the Russians, the Ukrainians are in a position to surround Russian units on the western side of the Dnipro, eventually trapping them between Ukrainian positions and the wide river. “Not a good place for the [Russians] to be,” mused Mark Hertling, a retired U.S. Army general.
Envelopment leads to disaster for the enveloped forces. Consider what happened in Lyman last week. Ukrainian brigades surrounded the city from three directions. By the time the Russian garrison in Lyman retreated, it had just one way out—along a narrow road heading east. But the road was within range of Ukrainian guns. There’s ample evidence the Russians suffered heavy casualties during the evacuation.
Whether the Russian army suffers a similar disaster in the south depends on how much combat power the Ukrainian Operational Command South has in reserve, whether the Russians have any reserve of their own in the area and whether Putin will allow commanders in the south to retreat before the situation becomes untenable.
https://www.forbes.com/sites/davidaxe/2 ... 6b07eb44ab