Russia and Ukraine have been engaged in a war of attrition in eastern Ukraine for several months, and both have suffered huge losses. Although the Russian army has advanced the front, it has also temporarily slowed down its offensive. Think tanks in the United States and the United Kingdom have analyzed that the Russian army will later attack Donetsk and prevent the Ukrainian army from counterattacking on the southern front. These two areas may determine the outcome of the entire war to a large extent. During a bloody battle in the Lugansk region, the Russian army occupied a Ukrainian army position and found a M777 howitzer that had not been taken away. This was just aid from the United States. It seems that the morale within the Ukrainian army has already deteriorated. It has reached a certain level, and even such a precious weapon can be thrown away casually.
The Russian army found a damaged M777 light towed howitzer in the abandoned position of Ukraine. The fighting may take place near Seversk, which is located 15 kilometers west of the twin cities of Severodonetsk-Lisichansk that Ukraine has abandoned. The M777 is the most advanced towed artillery currently in service in the U.S. military. It is famous for its light weight, with a total weight of only 4.2 tons. It is so light because of the extensive use of titanium alloy and aluminum alloy parts, making it only half the weight of the M198. The simplified design makes the firing efficiency very high, with 5 rounds per minute. The M777 uses a 155 mm caliber 39 times diameter barrel, which is the same as the M198. Its maximum range is 24.7 kilometers. It can reach 30 kilometers by using the rocket extended range projectile . In April this year, the United States decided to provide Ukraine with M777 to supplement Ukraine's artillery losses. Ukraine was surprised to find that M777 was better than Russian artillery and hoped to provide more assistance.
However, it backfired. The Ukrainian army felt that the M777 was easy to use, but it could not withstand the Russian army's large-scale saturation bombardment. After that, there were often news that the Russian army destroyed the M777. The Russian army also specially released photos and videos, and calculated how many M777s the Ukrainian army had left. To undermine the opponent's morale and boost one's own morale. The Russian army has the same purpose in releasing this video. The howitzer in the video has been severely damaged and cannot be repaired. However, the Russian army will still use this damaged artillery to learn more about the US military's weapon manufacturing process.
The Russian army finally captured the entire Luhansk through a slow and bloody offensive, and believed that it had achieved half of its strategic goals. However, Bronk, a researcher at the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI), a British think tank, said that the nearly three months of fighting have caused huge losses to the Russian and Ukrainian armies, and both are exhausted. After taking Lugansk, although the Russian army still maintained air strikes across Ukraine, its ground offensive slowed down significantly. Both sides are taking this opportunity to lick their wounds and reorganize their military strength. The ground forces of the Russian army, which have exhausted their offensive energy, need to rest, replenish or reorganize, otherwise they will not be able to continue launching a large-scale offensive. In addition to consolidating the defense of the remaining Donetsk areas, the Ukrainian army is also seizing the time to receive and familiarize itself with the West. New weapons provided by various countries, but they seem to have little effect.
The slowdown of the Russian army's offensive is just the calm before the storm. Western experts analyze that the next stage of all-out combat will determine the outcome of the entire war to a large extent. Puri, a senior researcher who served as a ceasefire observer in Donbass , said that in order to capture the entire Donetsk, the Russian army’s next main targets are expected to be Slavyansk and Kramotosk, which are likely to compete with North Korea. Donetsk, like Mariupol, was reduced to rubble by saturation bombardment.
Ukraine will continue to resist and make the Russian army pay the price as much as possible. However, poor command and low morale have left the Ukrainian army on the front line at a loss. Many battles collapsed at the first touch. Just like this position captured by the Russian army, many weapons and equipment were too late. Evacuate and throw them away if they cannot even be destroyed. No matter how many weapons the United States supports, it will be in vain.
