(C) Daily Kos This story was originally published by Daily Kos and is unaltered. . . . . . . . . . . Ukraine update: A small Ukrainian advance shows that there are more important positions than Bakhmut [1] ['Daily Kos Staff', 'Backgroundurl Avatar_Large', 'Nickname', 'Joined', 'Created_At', 'Story Count', 'N_Stories', 'Comment Count', 'N_Comments', 'Popular Tags'] Date: 2023-03-10 Fighting in and around Bakhmut remains heavy, with reports that Russia has brought more heavy equipment into the area since Ukraine pulled back from the eastern side of the city. At this point, Russian forces likely occupy more than half of the city. When it comes to the counterattack at Mayorsk, Russian sources are claiming this Ukrainian advance has now been repelled, though they admit that “some positions have not been recovered.” In making this advance Ukrainian forces seem to have forced a series of trenches recently dug by Russian troops in the area. Fighting also appears to be ongoing at two small villages—Shumy and Pivdenne—just south of Mayorsk. The lines in this area appear to be manned by mobilized forces for the DNR rather than either Wagner or regular Russian military, most of which has been dedicated to the assault on Bakhmut and the continued assaults on Vuhlendar, another 90 km to the southwest. It’s possible that the extended effort to capture Bakhmut has created a weak spot in the Russian lines along this highway. One thing is certain: Russia can’t afford a major breakthrough at this location because that highway through Mayorsk allows Ukraine to threaten Russian occupation over a whole series of cities, including some much bigger than Bakhmut. Cities south of Bakhmut. Mayorsk is an inner suburb of the city of Horlivka. That city has a population of near 300,000 and has been controlled by Russian occupation forces since 2014. That means the move toward Mayorsk isn’t just recovering a small town that was lost to Russian occupation some time ago; it presents the possibility that Ukraine could break through into an area that was part of the DNR at the war’s outset. Is it too early to be making much of what is, after all, a single small thrust toward a single small town; one that Russia claims to have already taken back? Yes, absolutely. But it’s notable that Russian sources are reporting that in response to Ukrainian forces entering Mayorsk, they have shelled other villages in the areas. This would seem to indicate they’ve not been all that successful in halting the Ukrainian advance. At the very least, the Ukrainian move at Mayorsk will surely remind Russia that there is more to this area of the front than Bakhmut. Also, unlike the Russians at Vuhledar, Ukraine apparently still understands how to launch a successful attack. It’s good to see that the Ukrainian forces are still probing for weakness in the Russian line rather than just being reactive to attacks on Bakhmut. On Thursday, the legislature in Georgia, dominated by the Georgian Dream party, completely backed down and withdrew legislation that would have forced employees of NGOs and foreign-owned companies to register as foreign agents. This followed two days of massive protests during which Georgia’s independent president sided with protestors. With the law withdrawn, celebrations have replaced protests. For now, Georgian Dream and their oligarch founder Bidzina Ivanishvili appear capable of riding this out to remain in power. However, they have reasons to be concerned. The Georgian people have been reminded that the power doesn’t really rest with Ivanishvili and his cronies, not if they’re willing to stand up together. Also, Georgians have picked up some very valuable protest skills. x At this point we learned how to 1. Fight water cannons 2. Neutralize tear gas#NoToRussianLaw #TbilisiProtests pic.twitter.com/tVDKtxFdqL — Mariam Geguchadze (@mariamgegu) March 9, 2023 One sign that things might not be over for the moment is that Russians in Georgia, along with Russian supporters, are reportedly still lining up to take an out-of-country holiday. x Russians are so afraid of the Maidan that they are fleeing Georgia back to Russia. pic.twitter.com/tJczZjUe1c — Devana 🇺🇦 (@DevanaUkraine) March 9, 2023 Russia state media has claimed that what’s happening in Georgia is the result of those “Anglo-Saxons,” who apparently continue to get around, fomenting revolution. Russian propaganda is clearly lying about the source of the protests, because this was all homegrown. But let’s hope they’re accurate with that revolution prediction, with the best way being a call for early elections that throws the pro-Russian Georgian Dream party out on its ear. This morning, the Ukrainian general staff issued the usual list of towns where attacks had been thwarted and locations subject to Russian shelling. However, they also jumped into a discussion of the fight within a fight: the war of words between Wagner Group owner Yevgeny Prigozhin and the Russian military. For weeks now, Prigozhin has been slamming the military for failing to supply his collection of prison escapees and war crimers with sufficient ammunition. He has openly criticised Russian military leaders, especially Gen. Valery Gerasimov, and the ability of Russian soldiers in a way that would have netted the average Russian a few decades shoveling permafrost in a gulag. Prigozhin hasn’t been locked up, but he also doesn’t seem to be getting any support from Putin or anyone else. x Footage from the "Da Vinci Wolves" battalion, destroying Wagner PMC soldiers in the direction of Bakhmut. pic.twitter.com/eCerp3ehJD — NOËL 🇪🇺 🇺🇦 (@NOELreports) March 10, 2023 In the Friday broadcast from the Ukrainian military, it was clear that Ukraine is relishing this schism in Russian forces. In fact, they’re looking forward to watching Wagner collapse from a lack of support. That includes reporting that Wagner has suffered “significant losses” in the last few weeks and that “most of them have perished on the fields of Bakhmut.” “It is clear that these processes are leading to the end of their inglorious history in the medium term.” Yes, please. But can’t we make that the short term? Or immediately? President Joe Biden may have walked the streets of Kyiv with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, but on Friday Finnish Prime Minister Sanna Marin joined Zelenskyy for what may be his most important duty: taking part in the funeral for a fallen Ukrainian hero. x President Volodymyr Zelensky and Finland’s Prime Minister Sanna Marin were among the thousands of people attending the funeral of the Hero of Ukraine Dmytro Kotsiubailo, on March 10 in central Kyiv. Kotsiubailo was killed in action near Bakhmut on March 7. pic.twitter.com/bceqXi8Yqv — The Kyiv Independent (@KyivIndependent) March 10, 2023 Dmytro Kotsiubailo was the commander of the same unit seen hitting Wagner Group forces in the previous video. Known under his call sign of “Da Vinci,” Kotsiubailo was commander of the 1st Mechanized Battalion, which has played a large role in the defense of Bakhmut. At just 27, he was the youngest battalion commander in the history of Ukraine. He was also a decorated “Hero of Ukraine” even before this invasion began for his actions in the 2014 invasion, where he lead a volunteer company at the age of 18. Finally, a reminder of what it means for Russia to have 97% of its military engaged in Ukraine. x Current situation in the North Caucasus. Should events in Ukraine deteriorate more than already for Russia and the protesters topple the current Georgian regime, then the whole region could witness major shifts. Russia has only a skeleton defense in the south. #Georgia #Chechnya pic.twitter.com/kPboaokpsO — (((Tendar))) (@Tendar) March 10, 2023 Russia has only a skeleton defense everywhere that isn’t Ukraine. Progressives have had tremendous success passing all sorts of reforms at the ballot box in recent years, including measures that have expanded Medicaid, increased the minimum wage, and created independent redistricting commissions. How have Republicans responded? By making it harder to qualify measures for the ballot. Daily Kos Elections' own Stephen Wolf joins us on this week's episode of The Downballot for a deep dive on the GOP's war on ballot initiatives, which includes burdensome signature requirements that disproportionately impact liberals; ramping up the threshold for passage for citizen-backed measures but not those referred by legislatures; and simply repealing voter-passed laws Republicans don't like. But Republican power is not unfettered, and Stephen explains how progressives can fight back by defeating efforts to curtail ballot measures—many of which voters themselves would first have to approve. [END] --- [1] Url: https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2023/3/10/2157289/-Ukraine-update-A-small-Ukrainian-advance-shows-that-there-are-more-important-positions-than-Bakhmut Published and (C) by Daily Kos Content appears here under this condition or license: Site content may be used for any purpose without permission unless otherwise specified. via Magical.Fish Gopher News Feeds: gopher://magical.fish/1/feeds/news/dailykos/