Can Ukraine Pull Off Another Thunder Run Offensive?

The Russians have gone into a defensive posture, and they have more troops now than they had at the start of the war.

Soldiers with the Armed Forces of Ukraine ride their BTR-80 armored troop transport after conducting convoy operations training on July 27, 2015, during Rapid Trident in Yavoriv, Ukraine. (U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Alexander Skripnichuk, 13th Public Affairs Detachment) Public domain.

In September of last year, Ukraine took a tactic from the U.S. playbook and executed a “Thunder Run” — a high-risk, high-reward, balls-to-the-wall push into enemy territory that happens so fast, it’s meant to shock and demoralize the enemy.