The recent Russian advances in the Donbas lead to an inevitable question: whether the indiscriminate tactics the Kremlin deployed there will be a template for future offensives. With reports of large numbers of troops, artillery and rocket launchers mustering across the border near the Russian city of Kursk – in an area that borders Ukraine’s Sumy province – it is an urgent issue. The Russian tactics that have shaped the battle in the Donbas have also posed a brutal dilemma for Ukraine’s defenders – to hold their ground amid rapidly mounting casualties, or withdraw and risk giving the attackers momentum. While other parts of the 300-mile frontline in Ukraine’s east lack some of the same vulnerabilities that existed around Sievierodonetsk – which sat in the midst of a Ukrainian salient that Russia exploited – in any future offensive the Kremlin is likely to offer Kyiv the same hard choices, attempting to stretch its ability to respond. |