‘They’ve gone as far as they can’: Ex-US ambassador predicts what’s next for Russian military

William Taylor, the former top US diplomat to Ukraine, analyzes the ongoing fierce battle in Bakhmut and says what he thinks could eventually break the Russian military in Ukraine. #CNN #News

66 comments

  1. Bakhmut is not about strategic importance. The Ukrainians would rather fight in a mostly abandoned, destroyed city than retreat and have that battle taking place in another city that may have more civilians endangered. Makes perfect sense. Biden, give Ukraine long range missiles and intel on the location of Putin’s armored train.

    1. If only Ukrane had long range weapons to reach the missle sites or aircraft delivering the missles crashing into infrostructure and buildings . That,d be a sweet day.

  2. The US and NATO along with their allies and partners should be supportive of Ukraine’s war tactics and war strategy because they fight for their survival. Thus, they know how to fight to defend their homeland. We should give them what they need to defend their territory. Glory to the heroes! Glory to Ukraine! Keep sending in more reinforcements to defend Bakhmut!

    1. @czr7j9, This is a completely false narrative- literally nothing you have stated is factual. In short, you are a liar.

    2. @Ann An, Yes, I am saying that the territorial gains that Russian has made in the last year are minimal. They are certainly not 1/5 of the territory of Ukraine and if Ukrainian forces take back Russian separatist regions, then Russia will have lost even the territory that it influenced. The rest of your comment doesn’t make sense. Of course, Ukraine is fighting to protect their territory, all of their territory.

    3. We support where and when we can, but have to be careful and very strategic how we do so.

  3. Ukrainian SF blowing the dam at Dymer. That adds some very crucial context as to why Russian forces were unable to cross the Irpin. Also gotta say that it does my heart good to see the INT LEG in the fight to defend Kyiv. All those guys are tremendous. It’s one thing to defend your own country. It’s an entirely different affair to travel across the globe on your own dime to fight evil in a distant land. What a band of heroes.

  4. I’m impressed by those heroes of Ukraine 🇺🇦. Heroes don’t take no talk from anyone you guys knows best how to fight this war against these so called Russians and Wagner group.

    1. @Spring Bloom Ok Russian bot. I heard Bakhmut isn’t going too well for you. Time to cut your losses and pack up.

    2. 💐Peace Be With You💐
      We invite you to the Religion of Islam, as
      you may find peace.
      💎ISLAAM💎 is the latest revelation From The Almighty Allah (God) for all the humankinds worldwide.
      If you die as a non-Muslim, according to Holy Qur’an there’d be an eternal punishment in the hell fire for other religions will be invalid and it’ll have consequences, Since 1400 years, The Rules Apply.
      Suggestion: Do Some Research About all The Religions, And Then Choose The Religion That Makes most Sense.
      Welcome To ISLAAM 💚💐

    3. It is urgently necessary to withdraw cash from bank cards, withdraw money from the banking sector!!!! The bank will declare that it is bankrupt and the depositor will not receive the money!;:%

    1. @batmanfromthesteppes they don’t need to surrender. NATO needs to step out, and let Zelensky and Putin negotiate peace without interference. NATO put a stop to the peace agreement both of them agreed to a year ago

    1. *Ганс Дитер Мундт, сорока двух лет,*

    2. 💐Peace Be With You💐
      We invite you to the Religion of Islam, as
      you may find peace.
      💎ISLAAM💎 is the latest revelation From The Almighty Allah (God) for all the humankinds worldwide.
      If you die as a non-Muslim, according to Holy Qur’an there’d be an eternal punishment in the hell fire for other religions will be invalid and it’ll have consequences, Since 1400 years, The Rules Apply.
      Suggestion: Do Some Research About all The Religions, And Then Choose The Religion That Makes most Sense.
      Welcome To ISLAAM 💚💐

  5. I cannot imagine the horrible reality these men are living in.. how on earth one can recover even if somehow surviving this hell

    1. Totally agree. It’s insane to imagine men far away living in this brutal reality. Makes me sick. I’m incredibly inspired

  6. Great to hear the ambassador`s perspective. He knows exactly what he`s talking about he`s spot on.Appreciated. Thanks.

    1. @babadook I mean I’ve had plenty of long discussions on Youtube; sans the direct links in some ways it’s actually better for debate because long posts are possible without blue checks. If it were me I would gladly offer up my side of the argument and I think I did in response to the other guy. Happy to hear your evidence but the onus is, again, on the person who makes the claim to begin with.

    2. @babadook Just one thing you think “they” have been wrong on would be fine. Most conservative/Russian claims have been heavily debunked and I’ve argued till the end on a bunch of claims, so I hope yours are a bit original =)

    1. @Jon In SLO  I bet you believe that have already captured kiev and are keeping the “losses” to a mininum… fool

    2. @Jon In SLO  noticed shitty Russian army has yet to take small city, tough Ukrainians may be in Moscow by end of month

  7. Great to hear a sensible answer to comments that Zelensky isn’t listening to the US advice on retreating or giving up land. Clearly it is up to Ukraine to decide on the right moves to make when it comes to fighting to hold their lands, advice is just information, you make decisions while looking at all information available. Great comment ambassador.

  8. What no one yammering on about this from afar has the sensitivity to realize is that whatever the “frontline” cty is, it will get destroyed. Better to let them fight in the city that is already destroyed than move to destroy the next city.

    1. I’d rather spare my forces to fight again another day from a more advantageous position. The city needed to be abandoned back in November when Russia took the surrounding hills and placed artillery there. With no way to reclaim the territory or shoot back, Ukraine could only take losses by staying.

      Conservation of forces becomes even more important when you have a significantly smaller population. Ukraine had an official population prewar of 1/4 of the Russian population. Subtract Donbas and Crimea, it was more like 1/5. Now added more lost territories and refugee flows, and you have a population of only 1/8 as much.

      This means in order to break even, Ukraine has to kill nine Russians for every fallen Ukrainian. And that’s not happening. Western estimates put it anywhere from to 2 Russians per 1 Ukrainian, or even 1:1. Independent analysis such as by the BBC set a floor of 6 Ukrainians for 1 Russian, and other commentators project even higher against Ukraine. I used to have my own estimate but I haven’t revised it in many months.

      The matter is Ukraine has since wastefully dumped so many men into an enemy killbox just for the sake of being able to claim they still hold something on the map even though it’s indefensible and costing them horrendously.

    1. 💐Peace Be With You💐
      We invite you to the Religion of Islam, as
      you may find peace.
      💎ISLAAM💎 is the latest revelation From The Almighty Allah (God) for all the humankinds worldwide.
      If you die as a non-Muslim, according to Holy Qur’an there’d be an eternal punishment in the hell fire for other religions will be invalid and it’ll have consequences, Since 1400 years, The Rules Apply.
      Suggestion: Do Some Research About all The Religions, And Then Choose The Religion That Makes most Sense.
      Welcome To ISLAAM 💚💐

    2. Michael… that’s for sure , we are waiting with popcorn in Moscow winner zelenski 🙏🏽🥰🇷🇺❤

  9. I will forever see Ukrainians as the heros of Europe now. It’s absolutely astounding how bravely and tenaciously they have fought. Right down to the last babushkas! Amazing…. Slava Ukraini 🇺🇦🇬🇧

    1. A strong NATO leading the way with a well armed Poland, France, UK and hopefully Germany is more than a match for Russia. Someday Ukraine needs to be admitted. They’ve earned it.

    2. @Sharon Wiggins Thank you for the beautiful history of your family. My Polish grandparents left Poland before WW1 because they could no longer tolerate the occupation. I have been praying for Ukraine throughout this war, and will continue to do so. I hope to travel to Ukraine after I retire, if my personal family obligations are also fulfilled. I care for my elderly mother, and she is my first priority. I hope you can travel to Ukraine soon! Slava Ukraini!

    1. *снаружи, с севера, с дальних холмов*

  10. Always very enlightening to listen to Ambassador William Taylor – and in this piece, very heartening. Some hope arises, amidst the horror and tragedy of this completely unnecessary conflict that is harming two countries, but Ukraine much worse.

    1. 💐Peace Be With You💐
      We invite you to the Religion of Islam, as
      you may find peace.
      💎ISLAAM💎 is the latest revelation From The Almighty Allah (God) for all the humankinds worldwide.
      If you die as a non-Muslim, according to Holy Qur’an there’d be an eternal punishment in the hell fire for other religions will be invalid and it’ll have consequences, Since 1400 years, The Rules Apply.
      Suggestion: Do Some Research About all The Religions, And Then Choose The Religion That Makes most Sense.
      Welcome To ISLAAM 💚💐

  11. It’s what many people have not understood about Zelensky. From the very beginning he’s never tried to be a “war leader” and believes in the Ukrainian Army leadership’s quality and ability to make independent strategic battle-field decisions. Zelensky has never pretended to know better, but at the same time is capable of not losing sight of the bigger picture. So far, Zelensky and his generals have proven themselves to be a formidable force outthinking Putin at every turn. Which is why I agree there’s more to the Ukrainians’ bitter defence of Bakhmut than meets the eye.

    1. @bklaw1234 Totally. The best of Ukraine is yet to come. Slava 🇺🇸 🇺🇦 🇪🇺 Democracy! Go the distance.

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