• PKMKII [none/use name]@hexbear.net
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    1 year ago

    Counteroffensives tend to be the most successful when there’s an element of surprise to it; an army on the offensive suddenly finds the enemy has done an unexpected feint or redirection, has gone on the offensive, they’ve now got to switch to a defensive position, the enemy gains a tactical and strategic advantage in the chaos. The Ukrainian counteroffensive was being hyped up in the press for weeks, maybe months, the Russians knew it was coming from miles away. Zelensky is putting selling the war to the West over what makes sense tactically.

    • mathemachristian [he/him]@hexbear.net
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      1 year ago

      Zelensky is putting selling the war to the West over what makes sense tactically.

      He has to. There is no war otherwise. They are fighting this war by the grace of NATO, he has to feed the news with the same “You’re all doing great, you don’t need to change a thing, just give us more stuff and we’ll take care of the rest” line because the libs love a go-getter they can patronize.

      • PKMKII [none/use name]@hexbear.net
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        1 year ago

        I get that, but there’s no reason his selling it to NATO has to be done via the press; he’s meeting with their leaders all the time in private. I think it’s the NATO leadership that wants this sold in the press to keep their demos juiced on the rah rah, fight the evil ruskies, don’t question us or you’re with the enemy propaganda.

        • mathemachristian [he/him]@hexbear.net
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          1 year ago

          If that’s what the NATO leadership wants that’s what the NATO leadership gets. I mean what changed Olaf Scholzs mind when he decided to give a billion euros to the Bundeswehr. Or more than a couple of moldy strela’s and now Germany is like the second biggest arms donor to Nazi militias in eastern Ukraine or something? I do not think it was any rational argument about how “arming nazis is a necessary evil actually” but the constant lambasting he was getting in the news cycle about being weak and hesitant while an enemy (maybe THE enemy) is invading an ally, that the German population was nodding along with.

          Marinating the news cycle with your story is damn effective.