Peter Erickson provides an unflinching assessment of the current situation on the Ukrainian front lines, and the picture is grim. With rapid Russian advances in the south, trapped forces in Pokrovsk, and no reinforcements arriving to stabilize collapsing defensive positions, Ukraine appears to be facing its most serious crisis since 2022.
Key Points Discussed:
• The Pokrovsk cauldron is tightening with Ukrainian forces surrounded in northern Mironograd, supplied only by drones with no viable escape routes
• Unprecedented Russian advances along the Zaporizhzhia-Dnipropetrovsk boundary—the fastest movement since 2022 with no signs of slowing
• Ukraine’s critical shortage of reserves—elite units that previously stabilized breakthrough points are simply no longer available
• The fiscal crisis: America has stopped paying for weapons, Europeans can’t afford to fill the gap, leading to desperate talk of seizing Russian frozen assets
• Trump’s trajectory from deal-making to potential escalation, influenced by neocon advisors and living in an information bubble
• Zelensky’s corruption scandal involving close associates and how it’s eroding European support
• Russia’s likely endgame: taking all four oblasts, then potentially pushing to Odessa and Transnistria if no settlement is reached
The Bottom Line: Ukraine is simultaneously running out of men, money, weapons, and time. This could be the unraveling.
Credit to : Conversations Among The Ruins