The fight for Bakhmut has shown that Russian commanders cannot coordinate their disparate forces. Nor can they think up ways to inject elements of surprise and flexibility into their operations or show any regard for economy of effort; all vital military considerations.
If they take any lessons from Bakhmut at all - and it is a big ‘if’ given that the Russian army has rarely shown itself to be a self-critical organisation - they will reinforce the belief that flattening an area with artillery then pushing men forward at great cost to clear what remains is a winning tactic.
It is not, or at least it only can be if you have an unlimited stock of manpower and ammunition and a society that will tolerate the butcher’s bill. None of these are guaranteed anymore for Putin.
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