Brian M Downing and the world at war. Timely, thoughtful, and nonpartisan analysis of military matters. @BrianMDowning1.
Brian M Downing Russia’s Donbas offensive has failed to encircle Ukrainian units or make significant penetration. It’s made only limited gains around Lyman, Donetsk, and Severodonetsk. Ukrainian casualties, though, have been high – about a hundred dead per day on average and twice that amid exceptionally sharp fighting. Russian casualties Read More …
Brian M Downing The Great Patriotic War reverberates in the Russian soul. At times, it thunders. Official ceremonies see to that but memories of 20-27 million deaths do more. The lower estimate is 15 times the American losses. Family lore recounts experiences, hardships, and deaths. To paraphrase Faulkner, the past war Read More …
Brian M Downing A nation’s history, beliefs, traditions, and family lore are forged in wars and become its ordering principles. Britain became a dominant power through the Napoleonic Wars and colonial conflicts. The US was decisively changed by World War Two and later by Vietnam. World War Two, the Great Read More …
Brian M Downing China has forged important ties with Russia over the last twenty years. The two countries’ military, financial, business, and foreign policy bureaus collaborate and benefit mutually. The guiding star is to weaken and subordinate the West, especially the United States. Xi sees Putin’s war on Ukraine as Read More …
Brian M Downing Putin’s war on Ukraine shows no sign of relenting. The Donbas campaign has brought only limited gains at great cost and even they are being lost to counterattacks. The war is moving toward stalemate. Artillery exchanges might soon predominate. The entire world is affected. With less Russian Read More …
Brian M Downing Russia invaded Ukraine with expectations of taking Kyiv and many other cities in a matter of days. It was overly-ambitious and showed little understanding of military realities. It was also a deviation from the Russian way of war: protracted intense artillery bombardments devastate everything ahead and open Read More …
Brian M Downing Russia’s Donbas offensive failed in a major encirclement operation from Izyum in the north and Donetsk in the south. Moscow fell back on a less ambitious campaign of slowly moving west from the center of the Donbas. This, it is hoped, will solidify control of the Read More …
Brian M Downing Putin’s war hasn’t gone well. Attacks on Kyiv and Kharkiv have been driven back, and pincer movements from north and south in the Donbas pocket haven’t achieved much. More recently, however, Russia can rightly lay claim to two successes – Mariupol and the central Donbas pocket. What’s Read More …
Brian M Downing Putin’s effort to vanquish Ukraine has failed. The drive on Kyiv was driven back to Belarus and the one in the Donbas has stalled. Ukrainian forces are attritting invading forces with artillery, drones, antitank weapons, and MANPADs. Ukrainians wore down the Nazis in the 1940s and their Read More …
Brian M Downing Russia is headed for defeat in Ukraine. Sanctions are weakening the economy and even choking off arms production. The army is being attritted by a more disciplined and better equipped adversary. Money’s drying up and default looms. By year’s end Russia may be struggling to hold on Read More …