[Goose]

I read something that said Ukraine taking Lyman is a big deal because it beat one of Russia's better armies to achieve the objective. Ergo, if Ukraine can take territory held by the enemy's best, it can probably whip much less capable Russian forces in other areas. Of course, I don't know how good the Ukraine forces are that took Lyman. Like was it Ukraine's best, or just an average Ukrainian force. We always talk about strength of opponent in sports. Not any different in war battles. In other words, quality of the fighters doing the fighting - and how they are equipped - matters when trying to assess who can beat who.

It isn't probable the forces in Lyman were "Russia's best", though these days, who knows? There was one Russian regiment, which might have been pretty good, and two DPR regiments, which are (were) at best militia and not very good.

Unlike sports, battles are fought between forces that are not required to be in any way "equal". In fact, both sides try hard to make sure they are not. Also unlike sports, both sides have different goals. Figuring out what "winning" means can sometimes be difficult. Russians used to be big on what they called "the correlation of forces". Never seemed to quite work out for them. Assessing who will win a given battle, let alone a given war, can be real tricky. Halfway through the "season", the other team may get HIMARS through the transfer portal.

[Goose]

I read something that said Ukraine taking Lyman is a big deal because it beat one of Russia's better armies to achieve the objective. Ergo, if Ukraine can take territory held by the enemy's best, it can probably whip much less capable Russian forces in other areas. Of course, I don't know how good the Ukraine forces are that took Lyman. Like was it Ukraine's best, or just an average Ukrainian force. We always talk about strength of opponent in sports. Not any different in war battles. In other words, quality of the fighters doing the fighting - and how they are equipped - matters when trying to assess who can beat who.

It isn't probable the forces in Lyman were "Russia's best", though these days, who knows? There was one Russian regiment, which might have been pretty good, and two DPR regiments, which are (were) at best militia and not very good.

Unlike sports, battles are fought between forces that are not required to be in any way "equal". In fact, both sides try hard to make sure they are not. Also unlike sports, both sides have different goals. Figuring out what "winning" means can sometimes be difficult. Russians used to be big on what they called "the correlation of forces". Never seemed to quite work out for them. Assessing who will win a given battle, let alone a given war, can be real tricky. Halfway through the "season", the other team may get HIMARS through the transfer portal.