Comments by "Stephen Sipe" (@stephensipe5405) on "Will Putin start a nuclear war? - Interview with Ben Hodges" video.

I love GEN Hodges explanations too. The Interviewer has to understand, analyzing Ukraine’s Kharkviv Offensive with a critical eye, is not an insult on the Ukrainian Military. The US had a critical evaluation of its own forces after winning Desert Storm/Kuwaiti Freedom. Therefore, you have to have a thick skin to be in Military Leadership. The Ukrainian Kharkiv Offensive had these positives: 1-Deception 2-Massing Overwhelming Force at a weak point 3-Excellent use of Special Forces as scouts and to set ambushes The Ukrainian Kharkviv Offensive weaknesses are: 1-Phase 1 to Kupiansk and the Oskil River went well, but Ukrainian Command did not bring Reserves forward to continue the fight the way NATO would do. 2-Ukrainian Command did not map out their own DPs, Decision Points, on alternative plans. This could mean Russian successful defense, but could also mean Ukrainian overwhelming victory. The senior Level planning process is slow. These are the options which should have been planned as half way to Kupiansk if not earlier and definitely by the fall of Lyman. A-Take Svatove (Y/N) B-Take Kreminna (Y/N) C-Take Starobelsk (Y/N) D-Take Lysychansk (Y/N) Command saying Y-Yes to any of these Objectives should have determined what Units it would take to achieve and then move them into position. This creates a relentless Offensive your enemy cannot prepare for. This is NATO fighting. Does it matter if Ukraine liberates Kherson west of the Dnipro River? NO. These are hardened defenses. Just keep the Russians pinned down in this area. What does matter both militarily and politically is liberating all of Zaporizhzhya Oblast and Kherson Oblast east of the Dnipro River. There will be heavy losses breeching the Russian defense lines in Zaporizhzhya. Nevertheless, this is how to decisively win the the war. I call it the Melitopol Offensive. This should start soon. When successful, the Melitopol Offensive will panic Russian Units west of the Dnipro River.
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@Walterwaltraud US support for Ukraine does not include planning their operations. We have shared intelligence for targeting. However, many targets have been plotted via a vigorous Ukrainian MI effort. Supplementing US injects, these other targets are acquired via drones, Special Forces, locals, and communication intercepts. The Kadyrov Chechnyans were targeted by communication intercepts cross referenced to social media posts of named personnel, with a lodging site IDed, and confirmed by drones. The HIMARS fire was green lighted upon confirmation and BOOM! This was not US intelligence. This was Ukrainian MI throughout the process. In post war Ukraine, I am expecting Ukrainian MI will be as important to the US and NATO as Israel is in the Middle East. The Ukrainian ability to detect Russian slang and emphasis on importance is average communication intercepts will greatly enhance US/NATO understanding. For example, suppose Ukrainian Intelligence collects the names of tank plant workers. Ukrainian MI takes over and monitors those plant workers with the most social media posts or who are worker leaders. If MI overheard conversations about tank quality or parts issues or test failures, this information can then be researched to confirm as intelligence. Threat assessment can then be better determined.
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@Walterwaltraud I agree the fantastic effort of the forward Units lead to exhaustion. I do not think Russia would be monitoring the activity of bring up Reserves to continue the fight. I believe Ukrainian Command surprised themselves with their level of success. This led them to be unprepared to insert additional forces to press the attack. My comment was more to better prepare mentally for great success and have additional forces ready to exploit that success. Look, during Desert Storm/Iraqi Liberation, the US has an Army Unit on the south flank and Marines on the north flank. The Army Unit was 2 days ahead of the Marine Unit because they had faster equipment. Fortunately, there was a sand storm lasting 3 days which allowed the Marines to get into position for a joint attack on Baghdad. Winning does not mean perfect. You have to be honest with yourself to fix flaws in operational mistakes to get to perfect.
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