Ukraine must embrace West’s ‘manoeuvre warfare’ instead of being dragged into traditional Russian-style combat
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has been brutal and attritional, and has shocked most of the “civilised” world.
Russia’s evident disregard for casualties and collateral damage in the pursuit of victory is very different to the West’s approach to warfare, which has profound implications for the war in Ukraine, and the West’s wider defence planning assumptions.
The legacy of two world wars – wars of attrition with massive casualties – led the West to re-think its military doctrine.
Although wars are fought by soldiers, they are waged between leaders, and indiscriminate destruction is not conducive to winning the post-conflict peace.
As a result, Western militaries have developed manoeuvre warfare, which leverages high-tech weapons to destroy the enemy’s will to fight.
However, Russia and Ukraine share much of their heritage, history and tradition.
Medieval wars were fought between combatants in a brutal battle to the last – with limited tactics and a focus on hand-to-hand combat.
Innovative weapons were viewed with a degree of suspicion – the medieval crossbow drew greater debate about its ethical use, as did the introduction of firearms centuries later.
The strongest, most numerous, and bravest prevailed.
Read more:
‘I want Putin to die’ – Shock and anger after dozens of Russian missiles hit Kyiv
‘Barbaric’ Russian missile and drone airstrikes
Bakhmut will show who is winning the war – but at what cost?
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
Why is Bakhmut so important?
Russia’s “Goliath” wants to engage Ukraine’s “David” in a war of attrition which it would be confident it would – eventually – win.
Conversely, Ukraine needs to find a way to leverage Western high-tech weapons to create its own military advantage.
However, culturally this presents a challenge to Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelenskyy – fight Russia in a traditional gladiatorial manner or adapt to survive.
The prolonged and bloody battle for Bakhmut has exposed this clash of cultures.
Bakhmut is not a significant military objective; however, it has become highly symbolic.
The US military evidently favours a strategic withdrawal to preserve limited Ukrainian warfighting capability for the battles ahead – a manoeuvrist approach.
Russia and Ukraine are embroiled in a bloody battle for Bakhmut
However, President Zelenskyy has elected to reinforce the city, thus being dragged into a war of attrition that risks favouring Russia.
“War does not determine who is right – only who is left,” British philosopher Bertrand Russell once said.
There will be no victors in this war, but neither side can afford to lose.
Ukraine knows the supply of Western technology is not unlimited – so ultimately Ukraine’s priority is to survive.
Click to subscribe to Ukraine War Diaries wherever you get your podcasts
Mr Zelenskyy faces difficult choices.
His instinct might be to engage in gladiatorial battles of attrition; however, if Ukraine is to survive it must preserve its limited resources, erode Russia’s will and ability to fight, and then rebuild.
As for the West, technology has proven a decisive military capability in this conflict, but assumptions of stockpiles of expensive weapons have proven woefully inadequate.
A manoeuvrist approach to warfare saves lives, preserves infrastructure, and can be decisive, but “vision without funding is hallucination”. Can the West afford to resource it adequately?
“Super high-IQ revolutionaries” who are willing to work 80+ hours a week are being urged to join Elon Musk’s new cost-cutting department in Donald Trump’s incoming US government.
The X and Tesla owner will co-lead the Department Of Government Efficiency (DOGE) with former Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy.
And in a post on X, the official DOGE account put out a call to arms for people to sign up and help “dismantle government bureaucracy”.
The post said: “We are very grateful to the thousands of Americans who have expressed interest in helping us at DOGE.
“We don’t need more part-time idea generators.
“We need super high-IQ small-government revolutionaries willing to work 80+ hours per week on unglamorous cost-cutting.
“If that’s you, DM this account with your CV. Elon & Vivek will review the top 1% of applicants.”
Read more:
Who is in Trump’s top team?
Trump’s cabinet signals tough stance on China
Elon Musk speaking at an event held at Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate. Pic: AP Photo/Alex Brandon
In a reply to an interested party, Mr Musk suggested the lucky applicants would be working for free.
“Indeed, this will be tedious work, make lost of enemies & compensation is zero,” the world’s richest man wrote.
“What a great deal!”
When announcing the new department, President-elect Donald Trump said Mr Musk and Mr Ramaswamy “will pave the way for my administration to dismantle government bureaucracy, slash excess regulations, cut wasteful expenditures, and restructure federal agencies”.
Mr Musk has previously made clear his desire to see cuts to “government waste” and in a post on his X platform suggested he could axe as many as three-quarters of the more than 400 federal departments in the US, writing: “99 is enough.”
At least 10 people have been killed after a fire broke out at a retirement home in northern Spain in the early hours of this morning, officials have said.
A further two people were seriously injured in the blaze at the residence in the town of Villafranca de Ebro in Zaragoza, according to the Spanish news website Diario Sur.
Two people remain in a critical condition following the blaze. Pic: AP
They remain in a critical condition, while several others received treatment for smoke inhalation.
Firefighters were alerted to the blaze at the residence – the Jardines de Villafranca – at 5am (4am UK time) on Friday.
Several residents were treated for smoke inhalation. Pic: AP
Those who were killed in the fire died from smoke inhalation, Spanish newspaper Heraldo reported.
The residence is home to 82 elderly residents.
Read more from Sky News:
Mass displacement in Gaza – people unsure where to go
Donald Trump picks vaccine sceptic as health secretary
Keep up with all the latest news from the UK and around the world by following Sky News
The blaze started in one of the rooms, Fernando Beltran, the national government’s top official in the region, told reporters.
All of the victims were elderly residents, he added.
Relatives wait for news outside the care home. Pic: AP
Fire crews, paramedics and police officers remain on site, said a spokesperson for the regional government of Aragon who confirmed the fatalities.
It took firefighters several hours to extinguish the blaze, they said.
The cause of the fire is unknown and is being investigated.
At least 10 people have been killed after a fire broke out at a retirement home in northern Spain in the early hours of this morning, officials have said.
A further two people were seriously injured in the blaze at the residence in the town of Villafranca de Ebro in Zaragoza, according to the Spanish news website Diario Sur.
Two people remain in a critical condition following the blaze. Pic: AP
They remain in a critical condition, while several others received treatment for smoke inhalation.
Firefighters were alerted to the blaze at the residence – the Jardines de Villafranca – at 5am (4am UK time) on Friday.
Several residents were treated for smoke inhalation. Pic: AP
Those who were killed in the fire died from smoke inhalation, Spanish newspaper Heraldo reported.
The residence is home to 82 elderly residents.
Read more from Sky News:
Mass displacement in Gaza – people unsure where to go
Donald Trump picks vaccine sceptic as health secretary
Keep up with all the latest news from the UK and around the world by following Sky News
The blaze started in one of the rooms, Fernando Beltran, the national government’s top official in the region, told reporters.
All of the victims were elderly residents, he added.
Relatives wait for news outside the care home. Pic: AP
Fire crews, paramedics and police officers remain on site, said a spokesperson for the regional government of Aragon who confirmed the fatalities.
It took firefighters several hours to extinguish the blaze, they said.
The cause of the fire is unknown and is being investigated.
-
Sports2 years ago‘Storybook stuff’: Inside the night Bryce Harper sent the Phillies to the World Series
-
Sports7 months agoStory injured on diving stop, exits Red Sox game
-
Sports2 years agoMLB Rank 2023: Ranking baseball’s top 100 players
-
Sports1 year agoGame 1 of WS least-watched in recorded history
-
Environment1 year agoJapan and South Korea have a lot at stake in a free and open South China Sea
-
Sports3 years ago
Team Europe easily wins 4th straight Laver Cup
-
Environment2 years agoGame-changing Lectric XPedition launched as affordable electric cargo bike
-
Business2 years agoBank of England’s extraordinary response to government policy is almost unthinkable | Ed Conway