by Mike Whitney, The Unz Review:
“If anyone from the outside interferes in Ukraine, they should know this: If they create threats for us… we will retaliate immediately. We have all the tools we need to respond, and all the decisions on this (matter), have already been made.”
Russian President Vladimir Putin
There’s no doubt that the retreat from Kherson was a black-eye for the Russian Army. There’s also no doubt that the general who ordered the evacuation made the right decision. True, the optics are terrible, but optics don’t win wars. Strategy, valor and firepower wins wars. Russian General Sergey Surovikin appears to grasp that fact which is why he made the unpopular decision to retreat.