Beyond The Horizon

ICYMI: The Brutal Reality Of Trench Warfare In Ukraine

Fighting a war in Ukraine during the winter months presents numerous challenges and dangers for military operations and the well-being of soldiers. Some of the key concerns include:

Extreme Cold Weather: Ukraine experiences harsh winters with extremely low temperatures, often dropping well below freezing. This can pose a significant threat to soldiers' health, as exposure to extreme cold can lead to frostbite, hypothermia, and other cold-related injuries.
Logistical Challenges: Winter conditions can severely hinder logistical operations. Snow and ice make transportation more difficult, affecting the movement of troops, equipment, and supplies. Roads and infrastructure may be damaged or impassable, leading to delays and difficulties in sustaining military operations.
Equipment Issues: Cold weather can affect the performance of military equipment, including vehicles, aircraft, and weapons systems. Lubricants may thicken, batteries may lose effectiveness, and machinery may experience malfunctions, reducing overall operational efficiency.
Limited Visibility: Snowfall and winter storms can reduce visibility on the battlefield, making it challenging for both offensive and defensive operations. This limitation can impact the effectiveness of surveillance, reconnaissance, and targeting, making it harder for military forces to gather intelligence and carry out precision strikes.
Humanitarian Concerns: The impact of war during winter extends beyond military considerations. Civilians caught in the conflict may face increased hardship, with limited access to shelter, food, and medical care. Displacement and the strain on humanitarian efforts are often exacerbated during the winter months.
Increased Casualties: The combination of extreme cold, challenging terrain, and limited resources can lead to higher rates of casualties among military personnel. Harsh weather conditions may also impede the evacuation of wounded soldiers and hinder medical assistance.
Psychological Effects: The psychological toll of warfare is already substantial, and the added stress of fighting in freezing temperatures can exacerbate mental health issues among soldiers. The harsh conditions and isolation can contribute to fatigue, anxiety, and other mental health challenges.
Strategic Considerations: Winter warfare can influence strategic decision-making. It may be more challenging to sustain prolonged military campaigns, and the dynamics of the conflict can change as both sides adapt to the unique challenges posed by winter conditions.

In this episode we take a trip to Ukraine to see how things are going on the front line as winter sets in and some of the issues facing both sides.

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Winter warfare in Ukraine – grounded drones and rat-infested trenches | International | EL PAÍS English (elpais.com)

Duration:: 18m
Broadcast on:: 12 Jul 2024
Audio Format:: mp3

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As the world has begun to focus on what's going on in Gaza, the other war that's burning out of control right now in Ukraine continues to roll on. And now that winter is upon us, and especially upon those forces fighting in Ukraine, things are about to get a whole lot more serious. Think about how cold it's going to be. In the middle of the winter, in Ukraine, and these dudes are sitting in these trenches like it's World War I. I don't know about you folks, but none of that sounds enticing to me. And the more video I watch coming out of Ukraine, the more disgusted I am by the whole entire thing. What's going on over in Ukraine is straight up gross. There are so many people dying needlessly, and I mean on both sides. When I watch these drone videos of the soldiers getting blown to pieces, we gotta remember that these are kids, right? Russians, Ukrainians, whatever. Most of these guys are young men, 18, 19, 20, 22, whatever it might be. But they're all young men for the most part. But like usual, when the kings and queens play their game of thrones, we're the ones who suffer. And that is going on in spades over in Ukraine, on both sides. Because I highly doubt a lot of these dudes that are over there in Ukraine fighting for Russia really want to be there. Have you listened to some of the testimony by these people? You got people getting rounded up in all kinds of, you know, backwater areas, you have all kinds of convicts being let out to go fight on the front lines. And then when they get there, the brutality is just almost too much to describe. And I know that might sound hyperbolic, but it's the truth. And now with as bad as things already are, they have to deal with the winter on top of it. Today we have an article from El Pius and the headline, Winter Warfare in Ukraine, Grounded Drones and Rad infested trenches. This is the year 2023 folks and we're talking about trench warfare in Eastern Europe. Who had that on their bingo card? This article was authored by Christian Sagara. Really Scott's Napoleon is a box office hit and keve. Ukrainian audiences especially love the scene where a Moscow is engulfed in flames, sparking a flurry of posts on social media. The movie effectively depicts the grim reality of warfare in Eastern Europe with a healthy dash of Hollywood style drama. Whether "Osterlitz" two centuries ago or in present day "Bachmud", winter has always been an army's greatest adversary. And there is no doubt that if you're going to fight a war in the middle of the winter in Eastern Europe, you better bring your parka. Napoleon's troops and Nazi Germany both face defeat in the harsh Russian winter sometimes personified as general winter. The term gained popularity during the French invasion of the Tsarist Russia in the 19th century. While the cold has been Moscow's greatest ally in past wars, the Russians now face a rival in Ukraine that is equally experienced in fighting in sub-zero temperatures. I think that's a little bit overblown, I mean obviously it's going to help out as opposed to you coming from a subtropical climate. But when you're in those trenches and those rats are running around and it's negative 35 fucking degrees, I don't care if you grew up on Mount Everest, that's cold. But what I will say is at least they're on their homeland, they're on their own soil. Whereas the Russians this time around are the invaders during the winter, so the shoe certainly is on the other foot. The cold weather has led to a decline in the intensity of the fighting on both sides, according to the Institute for the Study of War and American Nonprofit Research Group and Think Tank. An ISW report released on December 1st found that weather conditions continued to slow the pace of combat operations conducted by Russia and by Ukraine. The T-boat Folei of the Institute of Strategic Defense Studies at the University of Lyon in France adds that there are other problems beyond the sub-zero temperatures. We often only think about the cold and snow, but we shouldn't overlook the impact of rain. It hampers mobility, particularly for armored vehicles and causes flooding in the trenches. These factors contribute to combat inertia. El Pius, consulted analysts like Folei, and Ukrainian military officials to understand the main difficulties of fighting a war in the winter. None of that sounds pleasant. I don't know about you folks, but I go out in the middle of the winter and I live in Las Vegas, okay? I go out in the winter, it's like 32 degrees, your boys crying about how cold it is. I can't imagine sitting in a fucking trench waiting for the Russians to storm that trench in the middle of the rain and the snow and all the rest of the shit that Mother Earth wants to throw at you. Oh, did I mention the rats nipping at your toes? Grounded drones. The extensive use of drones is the primary military innovation in the war in Ukraine, and that's what I've been telling you folks for a while now. The way they're using drones over here is absolutely batcheted insane. And if you're part of the infantry and you're out on a mission or you're doing support or whatever, forget it. And another thing that I've noticed is they love to go after injured troops, both sides. So if you have somebody who's out there like limping or whatever and they're being helped by their comrades, well, a drone operator might come swooping in and drop a bomb, a little grenade, right there in the middle of all of those people trying to help the guy who's already injured. I can't tell you how many videos like that I've seen. And a lot of times the first bomb doesn't kill everybody. It just incapacitates them. Whether it's shrapnel through the legs or blows a arm or leg off, whatever it might be. These things are serious business and they're taking a serious toll on infantry. During the intense battle of back mote last spring, up to 300 drones were deployed over the eastern Ukrainian city. Including reconnaissance and bomb drones used by both armies, says Alexander, a commander in Ukraine's 47th brigade. Another 300 drones were deployed around Avdika, eastern Ukraine and early autumn, but the cold weather has grounded many since then. Drone battles have shorter lifespans in lower temperatures, and recent blizzards on the Donetsk front have also hampered drone flights. Low cloud cover also limits the use of reconnaissance drones. So when you don't have the use of those drones, you're basically flying blind. And these drones have become so prevalent in Ukraine that they're very, very much relied upon. So this weather is going to bring things basically to a stalemate. Now of course, there's going to be some incursions, there's going to be some exchanges of artillery fire, high Mars, stuff like that. But for the most part, you're going to see a stalemate and both sides pretty much lay back and lick their wounds because of the winter. There's not going to be any kind of gigantic offensive, not with any kind of armored brigade or anything like that. Because like they said earlier in this article, we haven't even talked about the rain, especially in the theater known as Ukraine. The mud over there is just unbelievably difficult to deal with. So if you have tanks, you have armored vehicles, very easy for them to get stuck in the mud. And if they're stuck in the mud, makes them very easy targets for artillery, for drones or for airstrikes. In November, we reported from Avitka, front line on the impacts of bad weather on drone operations. The day began with a dense fog providing the Ukrainian artillery with an opportunity to unleash their fire upon the Russian positions. The Russian surveillance drones, including the high altitude or lawn, struggled to pinpoint their targets. As the fog dissipated, Ukrainian artillery units stopped their assault and retreated. They were quickly replaced by Ukrainian pickup trucks mounted with anti-aircraft machine guns swarming over the battlefield. So there's going to have to be new strategies that come along to deal with these drones. The way that the drones are being deployed, this is just the beginning. America plans on using swarm drones, and what that'll do is it'll even the odds for America when it comes to numbers against China. So America plans on using a lot of drones in the future. So this is just the beginning, and I completely expect every single troop to be outfitted with their own personal drone system and their own personal drone jamming system in the future. Unusable Vehicles Snowy and icy roads can significantly impede the movement of cars and SUVs, which are crucial for transporting troops in both armies. When temperatures remain above freezing, for extended periods, the combination of melted snow and rains turn the roads into mud, preventing vehicles including tracked and armored vehicles from advancing. Black maneuvers are limited as slower convoy speeds increase their vulnerability to enemy artillery and drone attacks. Yeah, like I mentioned earlier, you don't want to be stuck in the mud, right? That's a saying for life in general, what are you stuck in the mud? That goes double for an armored division. Because with the technology that the Ukrainians have received from the west, that a Russian division that ends up stuck in the mud ends up becoming very quickly a destroyed Russian division, and the Russian commanders are aware of this, they know. So while they might be hesitant to send in the armor, I have no doubt that at some point, we'll see some kind of "that shit crazy" wave of humanity attempt to storm the trenches or something, but as far as trying to get an armored division involved, that's just not going to happen. A new law is helping me save more money on prescription drug costs. Maybe you can save too. With Medicare's Extra Help program, my premium is zero and my out-of-pocket costs are low. Who should apply? Single people making less than $23,000 a year or married couples who make less than $31,000 a year. Even if you don't think you qualify, it pays to find out. Go to ssa.gov/extrahelp. Paid for by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Looking for a financial institution that has fewer fees, better rates and gives back to the local community, as one of Colorado's largest credit unions, Belco offers great rates on products like our free boost interest checking and lower rates on loans, including our home equity choice line. Bank virtually any time, anywhere, through online banking and our mobile app. Becoming a member has never been easier. Visit belco.org or stop by any Belco branch. Membership eligibility required. Equal housing opportunity. All loans subject to approval, insured by NCUA. Belco. Banking for everyone. According to Ukraine's commander-in-chief, Valerie Zelinsky, the war in Ukraine will transition to a positional battle in the coming months. The two sides will engage in more infantry assaults but gain minimal ground. Alexander Rose, a member of the Tor Special Forces Group, says positional warfare is much less agile during winter. Camouflage becomes challenging when there are no leaves on the surrounding vegetation and color changes are very noticeable in the all-white landscape. Rose explains that the temperature contrast between the body and the environment is more noticeable, making it easier for thermal optics to detect nighttime attacks during the long hours of the winter darkness. And all of these drones are equipped with this shit now. These guys are buying drones for like, few hundred bucks, thousand dollars, whatever, and they're refitting them and repurposing them with all kinds of technology. So you gotta give a lot of props to the Ukrainians for thinking on their feet, right? The Ukrainians are showing a big set of huevos for the way they're standing up to the Russians. Do I think they're gonna be victorious? I don't. Not at the end of the day, but they're making the Russians pay for every single step that they try to advance. And I said from the beginning that if Ukraine truly wants to win and they really want to bust Russia in the eye, there's only one way to do it. They're gonna have to turn this into a guerrilla war at some point. And it's all fine and well, fighting in trenches and all of that. But how long is that support gonna last from the West? How long can the West do it? So the Ukrainians have to start thinking about moving into a different phase. And for my money, if I was in charge, I'd be looking to go guerrilla. You know, the way that you see all of these Islamic extremists do it, I'd be doing the same thing. Right now, as we speak, I'd be building tunnel systems, all of it. That way everybody's prepared, in case things go completely south and Russia does win. And at that point then, they can go to guerrilla warfare and really stick their thumb in the eye of the Russians. Mines buried under snow or harder to detect, set officers of the Ukraine's 47th Mechanized Brigade, infantry assault operations have to be cut short due to the increased risk of frostbite and hypothermia, and soldiers wearing extra protective clothing are less agile. In 1982, a military engineer named George K. Swinzo wrote a seminal essay about winter warfare for the United States Marine Corps. Low morale is perhaps the most debilitating factor of the cold, wrote Swinzo. Life in the trenches becomes a wet, demoralizing torment of rampant disease in the winter. Supervent frostbite soldiers are frequently rotated between watch duty and the warmer trenches. Digging new positions in winter is impossible in the frozen ground. Ukrainian and Russian soldiers have posted videos on social media showing underground shelters plagued by swarms of mice, seeking warmth and food. I can't imagine, all of it sounds horrible and if you want a little glimpse of what it might be like, watch that movie all was quiet on the Eastern Front. It's a Netflix movie and it talks about World War I and shows you a little bit of a glimpse of what trench warfare was like. No thank you man. I'm much more comfortable sitting right here in my pajamas watching TV. According to the Royal United Services Institute, a British defense and security think tank, Ukraine should seize other opportunities during the harsh winter, instead of attempting to break through defensive lines. Ukrainian troops can exploit vulnerabilities, forcing Russian forces to venture outside and face the elements. By strategically targeting Russian supply lines, Ukraine can maximize Russian casualties among poorly trained conscripts on a custom to winter warfare. Despite Russia's superior firepower, says Roussey, it suffered significantly more casualties last winter. And that's significant for sure. And I think the most important thing, as was pointed out here, is the morale. There's no doubt that if you're one of these Russian dudes that was pulled in from some "province" and now you're sitting there in the trench, you gotta be having some second thoughts right? I mean it's the middle of the winter, you don't have the right gear, not the right food, you have the Ukrainians launching all kinds of Western provided munitions at your ass, none of it sounds appealing. So I don't know how long the Russians can keep it up either. Now we all know that the Russians are a pretty stoic people, but the body count coming out of Ukraine, you gotta think at some point that body count is going to have an effect domestically. But with Putin being such a strong man and being such a dictator, I don't know how anyone's going to rise up against him, that's really not in the Russian DNA right? They're really not the kind of people that are going to rise up against a dictator. So it's going to be interesting to watch how this all unfolds. And for me really, I'm curious to see how long the West is going to continue to prop up the Ukrainian struggle. Because at some point there's going to be a lot of shifting sands, whether it's elections or whether it's the tide at home. So I'm very interested to see how long the West is going to be in this fight for. And as far as the Russians go, forget it, they've lost their place as far as the dominant power in the world, you can sing that song to somebody else. Because if the Russians tried to pull this shit against the United States, we will wipe them directly off the map. Now, of course, I know they have nuclear weapons and all that I'm talking about in just a regular old conventional war. What I have seen in Ukraine, well, I'm not too impressed. And if they think the Ukrainians would give them problems, wait until they get a load of Uncle Sam. All right, folks, that's going to do it for this one. All of the information that goes with this episode can be found in the description box with the link and official message from Medicare, a new law is helping me save more money on prescription drug costs. You may be able to save too. With Medicare's extra help program, my premium is zero and my out of pocket costs are low. Who should apply single people making less than $23,000 a year or a married couple who make less than $31,000 a year. Even if you don't think you qualify, it pays to find out. Go to ssa.gov/extrahelp paid for by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.