Today's News: Pushing back

My heart:

Good morning 💙💛 pic.twitter.com/orLKhCoHjg

— Olga Tokariuk (@olgatokariuk) March 18, 2022

So this happened:

Thank you @RussiaUN for your letter dated March 16.

Please see our suggested edits below. #StandWithUkraine #RespectTheCharter pic.twitter.com/0M663R0tUW

— Canada Mission UN #StandWithUkraine 🇺🇦 (@CanadaUN) March 17, 2022

The world rocked with laughter as the tweet went viral; only Russia was not amused. And I loved this response too:

"Accept all changes." 🇺🇦

— Canadian Forces in 🇺🇸 (@CAFinUS) March 17, 2022

Checking the New York Times Ukraine map page, I see their conclusion that Russian forces are making advances in the eastern half of Ukraine: 

Ukrainian forces continue to hold off Russian advances near Kyiv, Kharkiv and in large parts of the South. Russian advances have been hindered by supply issues, with many units around the country pausing operations while they regroup. But in the east, Russian forces have made steady progress in recent days, moving west from the separatist-held territory of Donbas. 

But Markos at Daily Kos sees this somewhat differently. He analyzes the battles going on across the Ukraine and says the Ukraine Army is pushing back in the south west, aiming to push Russia back from Kherson and Melitopol  

The red arrow on the top left marks the furthest point of Russian advance, and Ukraine has now pushed the Russians back almost to Kherson. Kos writes: 

 Liberating Kherson would offer Ukraine a propaganda victory if immeasurable worth. The press is still afraid to question whether Russia is losing. That’s why we see headline after headline about Russia “pausing” and “resupplying” and “regrouping” and “reinforcing” and the like, instead of the more accurate “stuck in the mud.” Losing its biggest prize, Russia’s dire straits would be harder to hide. Meanwhile, the Ukrainian people would see tangible proof that the tide of the war was turning. 

A very interesting analysis of the battle as it is progressing. And here's another analysis from a retired army general Mark Hertling, which I found in a reference in the comments on the Markos post -- he also provides a very useful analysis, particularly for someone like me who knows nothing about military tactics:

Today's thread on the ongoing RU invasion. (NB: All of this are just some personal thoughts to contribute to understanding)

3 things:
-Difference between Annihilation & Attrition
-How RU's logistic plan did not support their operation
-How logistics affects both sides now 1/20

— Mark Hertling (@MarkHertling) March 18, 2022

Read the whole thread, but here are some key pieces:

UKR, on the other hand, has the advantage of the defender.

They are on their own home turf, they have support of the population, they can pick and chose when & where they attack. 14/

— Mark Hertling (@MarkHertling) March 18, 2022

The key to this phase of the battle - who will win - is who gets resupplied, how both sides continue to fight, and the ability to counter the RU criminal acts of killing civilian non-combatants.

These are just my thoughts in watching the continuation of this war 20/end

— Mark Hertling (@MarkHertling) March 18, 2022

And here's more recent news:

The war in Ukraine is likely to be over by early May when Russia runs out of resources to attack its neighbour, Oleksiy Arestovich, an adviser to the Ukrainian president's chief of staff, said late on Mondayhttps://t.co/vjkfez17Kw

— Gerz 🇺🇦 (@GHNeale) March 17, 2022

(2/2) 8th Guards CAA commander Lieutenant General Andrey Mordvichev and several other senior officers may have been eliminated.

If confirmed, Lt. Gen. Mordvichev is highest ranking Russian KIA in the war.#Ukraine #UkraineRussiaWar #Russia #Kherson

— Darkstar November (@Darkstar_OSINT) March 19, 2022

.@ZelenskyyUa: Today there were 7 humanitarian corridors in #Ukraine. Six - in the Sumy region, one - in the Donetsk region. More than 9,000 people were evacuated from #Mariupol. In total, more than 180,000 Ukrainians have been rescued by the humanitarian corridors

— EMPR.MEDIA (@EuromaidanPR) March 18, 2022

Just heard from someone: "We thought that Russia had the #2 army in the world. Turns out, that it has the #2 army in Ukraine".

— Ostap Yarysh (@OstapYarysh) March 17, 2022

Everybody wants to contribute to Ukraine:

Greece is ready to rebuild the maternity hospital in Mariupol, the center of the Greek minority in Ukraine, a city dear to our hearts and symbol of the barbarity of the war.

— Prime Minister GR (@PrimeministerGR) March 18, 2022

Biden spent two hours talking about Ukraine and world issues with Xi:

Two hours of serious & detailed discussion.
People who think Biden is too old to manage the presidency have obviously confused him with TFG.

— Cathie from Canada 🇨🇦 😷🏳️‍🌈 (@CathieCanada) March 18, 2022

There are lots of tweets about what was said, but I liked this one:

I'm never getting off Twitter because the White House releases a photo of Biden zoomin with Xi Jinping and the first question someone has about it is what kind of cute notebook he's using and within one minute someone else has the answer pic.twitter.com/5aws5H3b5J

— mattie kahn (@mattiekahn) March 18, 2022

On a side note, this thread is hilarious:

Hi I am having a bad day please reply to this tweet with an AITA written from the perspective of your cat and also include a photo of said cat I would appreciate this very much

— Elle Em (@ellle_em) March 17, 2022