And also reality. Or does Russia still secretly occupy Kherson and Kharkiv? Did they only pretend to launch a major mobilization of new troops and call up prisoners to fill the ranks?

The day-to-day changes of the control map are less clear, especially now that there's major operational security around the counteroffensive, but I'm speaking of the overall "pattern of the war" here.

[+] TheOubliette@lemmy.ml -14 points 1 year ago (2 children)

Kherson and Kharkiv are both examples of Russia giving up territory with minimal losses. Kherson was a very famous preemptive withdrawal, with Russia going back on its statements that it would protect the people there. I feel bad for the people there who believed it and tried to build back a functioning society, as they were then subjected to UA's fascistic extremist militants that have wide berth to determine a very low bar for being a "collaborator".

Control maps don't mean much by themselves. A party taking a large strip of mud gets very different media treatment depending on who you read and which party gained it.

[–] _ak@lemmy.world 3 points 1 year ago

Kherson was a very famous preemptive withdrawal, with Russia going back on its statements that it would protect the people there.

The torture centers in Kherson were also there to protect the people there, right? /s https://www.hrw.org/news/2023/04/13/ukraine-russian-torture-center-kherson

[–] guyman@lemmy.world 2 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

While personnel losses can be debated, there is no debating that Russia is losing territory.