Russia Fights Advances With Defense That's 'Elastic'

"Military analysts say that Russian commanders have been using a tactic known as "elastic defense" to prevent Ukraine from holding villages and other positions as staging grounds for future attacks.

Across desolate fields and shattered villages, Ukraine's counteroffensive is confronting Russian minefields and Russian soldiers dug into elaborate trench networks.

But one unusually daunting obstacle to Ukrainian troops is a tactic adopted by Russian forces: ceding ground and then striking back.

Rather than holding a line of trenches at all costs in the face of Ukraine's assault, security experts say, Russian commanders have employed a longstanding military tactic known as "elastic defense."

To execute the tactic, Russian forces pull back to a second line of positions, encouraging Ukrainian troops to advance, and then strike back when the opposing forces are vulnerable -- either while moving across open ground or as they arrive at the recently abandoned Russian positions.

The goal is to prevent Ukrainian troops from actually securing a position and using it as a base for further advances. That is what Ukraine was able to do successfully in the village of Robotyne in the south, its biggest breakthrough in recent weeks.

"The defender gives ground while inflicting as heavy casualties as they can on the attackers with a view to being able to set the attackers up for a decisive counterattack," said Ben Barry, a senior fellow for land conflict studies at the International Institute for Strategic Studies, a British research group.

This tactic is just one of several factors that have impeded more rapid progress, according to Ukrainian officials and military experts. They also cite Moscow's use of dense minefields, networks of trenches and tank barriers, and the reluctance of the country's NATO allies to supply advanced fighter jets and longer-range weapons sooner in the conflict.

Perhaps the most formidable problem for Ukraine is Russia's large stockpiles of artillery, which have been deployed throughout the conflict and not least to repel the counteroffensive that began in June.

Elastic defense is not a new strategy, Mr. Barry said. The Soviet Union employed it during its defeat of Germany in 1943 at the Battle of Kursk, one of the biggest on the eastern front during World Conflict II. Russia also appears to have been applying it for some time in Ukraine, especially to hamper this summer's counteroffensive.

"Historically it's been used very successfully, but to succeed it requires good leadership and well-trained forces and to deliver decisive counterblows," Mr. Barry said.

Assessing whether the tactic is being deployed on any given day is difficult without direct access to Russian commanders, experts said. But the Institute for the Study of Conflict, an organization based in Washington, noted signs of it in recent days around the village of Robotyne, which fell to Ukrainian forces at the end of August.

Some significant field fortifications had changed hands several times, it said in a report this weekend, adding that Russian forces had "been conducting successful limited tactical counterattacks."

Competing claims this week illustrated the issue: Russian forces said they had staged an assault on Ukrainian troops on the front line in the southern Zaporizhzhia region, where Kyiv has staged the main thrust of its counteroffensive, while Ukraine's forces said they had "repelled the attacks."

In a report on Monday, the institute said that geolocated footage and satellite imagery appeared to show that Ukraine had regained control of a trench system, southwest of Robotyne, that it had previously lost to Russian troops. Another indication of the back-and-forth nature of the fighting came on Tuesday, when Gen. Oleksandr Tarnavskyi, the head of Ukraine's forces in the south, said that there had been an advance by his troops. It was not possible to verify his report.

In recent months, Ukraine's conflict has consisted of battles for tiny villages and individual trench systems -- contests that can last for weeks, with each side sustaining significant casualties to secure control. Overall, however, the conflict is being fought over a front line that stretches for hundreds of miles from the small city of Kupiansk, in the northeastern region of Kharkiv, where Russian forces have been trying to advance, to the Zaporizhzhia region in the south.

Ukrainian forces have also pushed forward in the south of an eastern region, Donetsk, where fighting over Bakhmut, one of the conflict's most savage battles, has not stopped since Moscow gained control of the city in May.

President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine visited troops near Kupiansk on Tuesday to hand out medals and inspect military equipment, including Leopard tanks that have been donated by the country's NATO allies in Europe. 

His Telegram account posted a video of him in a forest shaking hands with a small group of soldiers, who appeared to include older men -- a sign of the toll the conflict has taken on Ukraine.

Military experts believe that Russia has slowed Ukraine's military to a crawl, in part through its elastic defense.

A key factor in the successful implementation of the tactic is the judicious use of military reserves, who can be thrown into the battle for a counterattack, said Oleksiy Melnyk, a former Ukrainian commander who is now a senior official at the Razumkov Center, a nonprofit institute in the capital, Kyiv.

Moscow appeared to have begun to deploy elite airborne units to its defense in the Zaporizhzhia region, according to Mr. Melnyk.

"One of the biggest things that remains in question is whether or not the Ukrainian military will be able to achieve a breakthrough," he said on the "Conflict on the Rocks" podcast last week. One alternative, he said, is that "what we're seeing is largely how this offensive was going to unfold from now until, let's say, we get into the winter, or perhaps even through the winter."" [1]

1. Russia Fights Advances With Defense That's 'Elastic': [Foreign Desk]. Bigg, Matthew Mpoke.  New York Times, Late Edition (East Coast); New York, N.Y.. 04 Oct 2023: A.6.

Pasaulinės transportavimo laivais kompanijos vėl naudojasi „nemokamu kuru“

„Vis daugiau laivų plaukia, varomi vėjo jėgainėmis, nes pasaulinė pramonė bando kovoti su klimato kaita. Vieną koncepciją remia Švedijos popžvaigždės Abba.

 

     Vienas laivas buvo trauktas per jūrą didžiulės burės pagalba, kuri atrodė taip, lyg priklausytų aitvarų banglenčių milžinui. 

 

Kitas šią vasarą plaukiojo vandenynuose tarp Kinijos ir Brazilijos su plieninėmis ir kompozitinio stiklo burėmis, kurių aukštis siekė tris telefono stulpus.

 

     Abu jie naudoja natūralų laivų kurą, nuo kurio vandenyno laivai priklausė šimtmečius: vėją. Ir jie yra dalis didėjančių pastangų perkelti laivybos pramonę nuo iškastinio kuro.

 

     "Mes norime dekarbonizuoti – kodėl gi nepasinaudojus tuo, kas yra prieinama?" sakė Janas Dielemanas, „Cargill Ocean Transportation“, nuomojančios apie 700 laivų, prezidentas.

 

     „Vėjas yra nemokamas kuras“.

 

     Pasaulinė laivybos pramonė yra atsakinga už maždaug 3 procentus šiltnamio efektą sukeliančių dujų, kurios pavojingai šildo planetą. Tai reiškia apie vieną milijardą metrinių tonų anglies dioksido ir kitų dujų kasmet, o šis skaičius didėja, didėjant pasaulinei prekybai.

 

     Kasmet jūra išgabenama apie 11 milijardų tonų krovinių, o tai sudaro net 90 procentų pasaulio prekiaujamų prekių. Beveik visa tai įjungiama deginant mazutą, tačiau tai pradeda keistis.

 

     „Cargill“ išsinuomojo „Pyxis Ocean“ laivą, kuris rugpjūtį pradėjo savo pirmąją kelionę vėjo pagalba. Iš Kinijos į Braziliją išplaukė su dviem sparnais, kurie pasisuka, kad gaudytų vėją, ir sulankstomi, kai nenaudojami. Nors kiekvienas iš jų sveria 125 tonas, ponas Dielemanas sakė, kad tai yra nedidelė dalis laivo keliamosios galios – 82 000 tonų. Kiekviena burė gali sumažinti degalų sąnaudas 1,5 tonos per dieną arba 4,65 tonomis mažiau anglies dvideginio išmetimo ir 30 procentų sumažinti degalų sąnaudas. Praėjusią savaitę laivas prisišvartavo Brazilijoje.

 

     Prancūzų kompanija Airseas sukūrė kitokį dizainą – negabaritinį aitvarą. Jis yra saugojimo rezervuare, esančiame laivo priekyje ir yra išskleistas kabeliu ir kranu, kad būtų įkeltas beveik 1000 pėdų į dangų, kur pučia stiprūs vėjai. Prototipas jūroje buvo pusantrų metų, sakė Vincentas Bernatetsas, „Airseas“ generalinis direktorius ir vienas iš įkūrėjų. Projektas gali sumažinti degalų sąnaudas kai kuriais maršrutais iki 40 procentų, sakė jis ir pridūrė, kad viena didelė Japonijos laivų kompanija užsakė penkias bures.

 

     Vėjo varomiems laivams vis dar reikia atsarginio kuro, kad galėtų plaukti uostuose arba veikti, kai oras nejuda. Tačiau idėja yra žymiai sumažinti priklausomybę nuo iškastinio kuro.

 

     „Kiekviena sutaupyta anglies tona iš tikrųjų yra trečdalis tonos degalų, kurias sutaupote“, – sakė J. Dielemanas. „Šiandien turime sumažinti išmetamųjų teršalų profilį.

 

     Iš pasaulinio laivyno, kuriame yra apie 60 000 krovininių laivų, maždaug 30 yra varomi vėjo, sakė Gavinas Allwrightas, prekybos grupės „International Windship Association“ generalinis sekretorius. Tačiau prognozuojama, kad iki 2030 m. net 10 700 prekybinių laivų naudos vėjo jėgainę, sakė jis.

 

     „Manome, kad tai vyks daug greičiau“, – sakė ponas Allwrightas. "Ar pramonė ketina tai priimti? Atsakymas yra taip, vis dažniau."

 

     Beveik visos šalys sutiko iki 2050 m. nustoti į atmosferą išmesti laivybos išmetamų teršalų, o tai labai priklauso nuo anglies dioksido neišskiriančio kuro, pavyzdžiui, amoniako, kuris gaminamas, naudojant vėjo ar saulės energiją. Tačiau tie degalai būtų brangūs, o toksinių medžiagų nuotėkis kelia susirūpinimą.

 

     „Tai šioks toks vizijų mūšis“, – sakė Briuselyje įsikūrusios aplinkosaugos grupių koalicijos „Seas at Risk“ laivybos politikos direktorius Johnas Maggsas. „Laivybos pramonė yra labai konservatyvi, ir, žinoma, iškastinį kurą parduodančios, bendrovės parduos tuos alternatyvius degalus.

 

     Tyrimai parodė, kad laivybos išmetamųjų teršalų kiekis iki 2030 m. gali sumažėti iki 47 proc., derinant vėjo jėgą, naujus degalus ir sumažinus greitį. Lėtėjimas taip pat gali sumažinti povandeninį triukšmą ir pavojų banginiams. Remiantis Jūros draugo, kuris sertifikuoja žuvininkystės ir akvakultūros tvarumą, duomenimis, kasmet laivai užmuša apie 20 000 banginių.

 

     Dešimtys kitų vėjo laivų yra kuriami, daugelis tokiose Europos šalyse, kaip Didžioji Britanija, Prancūzija, Norvegija ir Nyderlandai. Beveik visi yra labai automatizuoti ir aprūpinti jutikliais, kurių konstrukcija apima bures, rotorius ir vertikalius lėktuvo sparnus primenančias dalis.

 

     Jų statytojai neaptartų išlaidų, tačiau vėjo jėgainių papildymo skaičiavimai svyruoja nuo kelių šimtų tūkstančių dolerių iki daugiau, nei milijono dolerių. Ponas Allwrightas sakė, kad atsipirkimo laikotarpis gali būti nuo trejų iki penkerių metų modernizuojant, o ilgesnis – naujos statybos atveju.

 

     Švedijos kompanija Wallenius Marine kuria vėjo varomus laivus, kurių tikslas – sumažinti laivų anglies dvideginio emisiją net 90 procentų.

 

      Bendrovė remia „Abba Voyage“ – virtualų koncertinį pasirodymą, kuriame dalyvauja Švedijos pop grupė, kuri nuo praėjusių metų gyvuoja Londone. Richardas Jeppssonas, vyresnysis viceprezidentas, atsakingas už vėjo varomų su Wallenius Lines, sakė, kad bendrovė konsultavo laidos tvarumo klausimais, užtikrindama, kad vanduo būtų recirkuliuojamas ir naudojamos atsinaujinančios statybinės medžiagos.

 

     Wallenius taip pat užsitikrino teisę pavadinti savo vėjo varomus laivus pagal Abba dainas. Nors grupės daina „Eagle“ lydi reklaminį vaizdo klipą, J. Jeppssonas sakė, kad kiekvienam iš laivų dar reikia pasirinkti „Abba“ dainą.

 

     „Kai kurios yra geresnės už kitas“, – sakė J. Jeppsson. „Gal ne S.O.S.“ [1]

 

1. Global Shippers Again Embrace The 'Free Fuel': [Foreign Desk]. Buckley, Cara.  New York Times, Late Edition (East Coast); New York, N.Y.. 04 Oct 2023: A.1.

Global Shippers Again Embrace The 'Free Fuel'

"More ships are running on wind power, as the global industry tries to fight climate change. One concept has backing from Abba, the Swedish pop stars.

One ship was pulled across the sea with the help of an enormous sail that looked as if it belonged to a kite-surfing giant. Another navigated the oceans between China and Brazil this summer with steel and composite-glass sails as high as three telephone poles.

Both harness a natural propellant that oceangoing vessels have depended on for centuries: the wind. And they're part of a growing effort to move the shipping industry away from fossil fuels.

"We want to decarbonize -- why not use what's available?" said Jan Dieleman, president of Cargill Ocean Transportation, which charters about 700 ships. 

"Wind is free fuel."

The worldwide shipping industry is responsible for about 3 percent of the greenhouse gases that are dangerously heating the planet. That translates into about one billion metric tons of carbon dioxide and other gases annually, a figure that is rising as global trade increases.

Some 11 billion tons of cargo are shipped by sea each year, accounting for as much as 90 percent of the world's traded goods. Nearly all of it is enabled by burning heavy fuel oil, but that is beginning to change.

Cargill chartered the Pyxis Ocean, a vessel that began its first wind-assisted voyage in August. It sailed from China to Brazil with two wings that turned to capture the wind and folded down when not in use. While each weighs 125 tons, Mr. Dieleman said it is a small proportion of the vessel's carrying potential of 82,000 tons. Each sail can cut fuel usage by 1.5 tons per day, or 4.65 fewer tons of carbon dioxide emissions, and decrease fuel usage by 30 percent. The ship docked in Brazil last week.

The French company Airseas developed a different design, the outsize kite. It is housed in a storage tank on a ship's bow and deployed by cable and crane to slice nearly 1,000 feet into the sky, where winds blow strong. A prototype has been at sea for a year and a half, said Vincent Bernatets, the chief executive and co-founder of Airseas. The design could slash fuel consumption by up to 40 percent on some routes, he said, adding that a major Japanese ship company has ordered five sails.

Wind-powered ships still need a backup fuel to navigate harbors or to function when the air is still. But the idea is to significantly reduce the reliance on fossil fuels.

"Every ton of carbon you save is actually a third of a ton of fuel that you save," Mr. Dieleman said. "We need to get the emissions profile down today."

Of a worldwide fleet of about 60,000 cargo ships, roughly 30 are wind-assisted, said Gavin Allwright, the secretary general of the International Windship Association, a trade group. But as many as 10,700 merchant ships are projected to use wind propulsion by 2030, he said.

"We think this will go much quicker," Mr. Allwright said. "Is the industry going to adopt this? The answer is yes, increasingly so."

Nearly all nations have agreed to stop adding emissions from shipping to the atmosphere by 2050, a target that depends greatly on zero-carbon fuels, such as ammonia that is produced with wind or solar energy. But those fuels would be expensive, and toxic leaks are a concern.

"It's a bit of a battle of visions," said John Maggs, the shipping policy director at Seas at Risk, a coalition of environmental groups that is based in Brussels. "Shipping is a very conservative industry, and of course the companies selling fossil fuels will be selling those alternative fuels."

Research has found that shipping emissions could be cut by up to 47 percent by 2030 through a combination of wind propulsion, new fuels and reduced speeds. Slowing down could also cut underwater noise and risks to whales. An estimated 20,000 whales are killed each year by ships, according to Friend of the Sea, which certifies fisheries and aquaculture for sustainability.

Dozens of other wind-ships are in development, many in European countries like Britain, France, Norway and the Netherlands. Almost all are highly automated and equipped with sensors, with designs that include sails, rotors and parts that resemble vertical airplane wings.

Their builders would not discuss the costs, but estimates for adding wind propulsion range from several hundred thousand dollars to more than a million dollars. The payback period could be three to five years for retrofits and longer for new builds, Mr. Allwright said.

The Swedish company Wallenius Marine is developing wind-powered ships with the aim of lowering vessels' carbon emissions by as much as 90 percent.

 The company has sponsored Abba Voyage, a virtual concert performance featuring the Swedish pop band that has been running in London since last year. Richard Jeppsson, the senior vice president for wind-powered projects with Wallenius Lines, said the company advised on the show's sustainability, ensuring that water was recirculated and that renewable building materials were used.

Wallenius has also secured the rights to name its wind-powered vessels after Abba songs. Although the band's song "Eagle" accompanies a promotional video, Mr. Jeppsson said an Abba song has yet to be chosen for one of the ships.

"Some are better than others," Mr. Jeppsson said. "Maybe not S.O.S."" [1]

1. Global Shippers Again Embrace The 'Free Fuel': [Foreign Desk]. Buckley, Cara.  New York Times, Late Edition (East Coast); New York, N.Y.. 04 Oct 2023: A.1.