Ukraine soldiers put tape on their arms to identify themselves as comrades in the fight against pro-Russia separatists. (Sergei L. Loiko / Los Angeles Times)
Ukraine Troops Struggle With Nation's Longtime Neglect Of Military -- L.A. Times
Militia commander Yuri Bereza and his 150 Ukrainian irregulars were closing in on pro-Moscow separatists in their last stronghold in this eastern city when Russian troops and armor thundered in out of nowhere to cut them off in the suburb of Ilovaisk.
No satellite or drone surveillance detected the sudden movement of the Russian columns. No word of the impending attack had been radioed from the border guard base the invaders had to have passed. Neither did any of the allied soldiers who were supposed to be bringing up the rear inform Bereza's fighters that they had been cut off. In fact, the 700-strong contingent of government recruits had deserted en masse.
The unit's calls to Kiev, the Ukrainian capital, to say it was surrounded brought promises of a reinforcements, food and ammunition, none of which came to the rescue of the men, who survived on grass and rainwater as they braved five days of incessant sniper fire, "like game at a hunting range," Bereza said bitterly of the battle two months ago.
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My Comment: This is a bleak analysis on the Ukraine military .... but my sources are telling me that the structural problems are even worse. But while the focus has been on the military, the real big failure has been political. For some reason the Poroshenko government believed that they could win a war in a region that has a long history of guerrilla warfare and resisting military forces. Throw in Russian forces to complement these local rebel forces .... a disaster was then in the making .... which bore out in August.