Forget whoever told you there’s a stalemate in the Ukraine war right now. Mariupol is gone, but a hot fight is raging through eastern Ukraine. It’s Russian artillery versus Ukraine’s hit-and-run counter-offensives, and at several points the battle is touch and go.
Much will depend on whether Russia can keep pushing toward the city of Kramatorsk.
You remember Kramatorsk, where the Russians hit the train station on April 9 with a single ballistic SS-21 missile strike, killing 57, including five children.
Since then, Russian forces have advanced to within about 20 miles of the city. They are even closer to Russia has forces attacking from both the north and south, pressuring cities like Syeverodonetsk. On a map, the curving Russian force position looks like a crocodile’s mouth. Let’s call it the jaws of Kramatorsk.
"The primary objective on this axis is to envelop Ukrainian forces," Britain’s Ministry of Defence warned May 13. If Russia succeeds, some of Ukraine’s best forces will be....
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