A War in the footsteps of Hitler

A War in the footsteps of Hitler

As on 24 August 2022

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The war has devastated Ukraine. There is no reason for this war except Russian imperialism.

A full-scale invasion began on Feb 24 2022. Russia besieged Kiev but met with stiff resistance and soon abandoned it Instead, Russia regrouped in the east and the south. Villages were taken after shelling.

?Till weapons arrived from the West the outgunned and outnumbered Ukraine retreated, Then the frontline became static. ?

?Thousands of men and women from other countries have joined the Ukraine movement to support the fight for freedom.

?Heart breaking stories of death, desperation, suffering and sacrifice from both camps keep coming up.?In the shelled towns life has become hell causing large scale relocation and evacuation of civilians.

?While Ukraine shells military targets, indiscriminately fired Russian missiles have hit schools and residential buildings. Russia has intensified its aggression and today committed a war crime: it shelled a train station killing 15 people.

?A Nuclear Plant in the Crossfire

?All eyes are on the Ukranian Nuclear Power Plant in the crossfire. The plant, the largest in Europe, is located in Zaporizhzhia. The plant is held by Russia as a military base. Shells do fall near the plant. 75% of staff have stopped reporting to work leaving plant maintenance in danger. The nuclear threat is as dangerous as it is imminent. ?One is reminded of the April 1986 Chernobyl nuclear accident in Ukrainian soil.

?The nuclear risk is evident. The fall out ?will spread to adjacent countries depending on the direction of wind. The UN has asked for demilitarization. Moscow has different views and wants to hold the plant in control. It is suspected the plant is used to stock weapons and as a shield by Russia. It is now a global crisis.

On one hand, playing his infamous energy card, Putin intends to disconnect the power plant from grid. On the other hand, amid bloodshed, he is gunning for a referendum to solemnize the bloody war and project himself as a noble politician.

?Zelensky names this a "nuclear blackmail". NATO dubs this as irresponsible and insane.

?The war is escalating with a will of its own. It might spiral into World War III, and gamble with nuclear warheads.

?The front line

The map shows the front line where Russian advances are stalled by Ukraine. The human cot is enormous. Five hundred soldiers die fighting every day to keep the line static. ?Which means about ninety thousand Ukranian and Russian lives have been lost so far. And the fighting is getting fiercer by the day. Deaths declared by governments are gross underestimates. The full magnitudes of brutal killings are seldom reported. Death happens in silence in unknown alleys.

Areas on either side are in the receiving end of shells. Facilities are destroyed, and villages are wiped out.?Scarcity of food and medicine and spiralling costs make life impossible for the lingering population. Civilians are murdered in cold blood by shells that fall from skies. More than six thousand civilians have been killed in Ukraine territory, an equal number wounded. 5.2 million people have fled to other countries as refugees. 7 million people have left their homes and live the life of refugees within Ukraine.

Plans are being made to evacuate the front line and targeted cities.

High morale, state of the art weapons

To Russian army the goal is limited to survival. To Ukranians it is a higher goal, freedom, and hence have high morale.

Ukraine has also acquired a new capability for precision targeting. Intelligence, updated every minute by a network of forty-five satellites and spy planes. ?

The information on enemy troop positions is analysed and an attack strategy is updated on an hourly basis. Ukraine hits the carefully chosen military targets with GPS guided rockets with minimal error.

Ukraine is able to deliver rockets with an error of 100 metres while Russian hits have an error of 500 metres.

This capability to hit with precision and in time has caused Russia losses and delays.

With the available weapons Ukraine has set up a strong defence. Deep strikes and large-scale offensive moves are not possible until heavier equipment arrives.

Occasionally Ukraine has struck deep behind the lines perhaps using a few indigenously made missiles and drones. USA has a policy not to equip Ukraine with deep strike capability.

The end of war is not in sight. Russia intends to bring their tanks to Ukranainian streets. Ukraine wants to fight till the end. People live in fear.