Mud season is official here as Ukraine and Russia face massive winter storm.

 

A rescue vehicle towing a car stuck in the snow near Odessa Ukraine. Reuters. 

A massive snow storm has hit Ukraine and Russia leaving at least eight people dead and injuring more. Reuters. Ukraine suffered at least five deaths while neighboring Moldova saw at least three. The massive snow storm knocked out power throughout Ukraine and more than 1500 trucks were stranded. High winds left snow drifts six feet deep in some locations. 

Russia too was deeply affected due to the storm, including in Crimea, which they annexed from Ukraine in 2014. Al-Jazeera. Russian sources say the storm was the worst to hit Crimea since records have been recorded. At least three Russians died in the storm. 

My Comment:

Even though Russia and Ukraine are at war and aren't sharing much, the one thing they are getting to share is terrible November weather. This was a massive storm and it's going to complicate things for both sides of this conflict. And it sounds like more snow is on the way. 

The storm is obviously going to complicate logistics for both sides. With thousands of trucks stuck in the snow Ukraine is going to have difficulty moving troops and weapons to the front lines. And neither side is going to really be able to resupply from the sea. It sounds like a lot of ports in the region are going to be closed for a bit. 

It won't take too long to clear out the snow even with the massive amount dropped during this storm. Both sides are obviously very familiar with snow and know how to remove it. I think things will probably go back to normal in a few days, depending on how badly the 2nd part of the storm goes. 

What I do know is that I have a lot of sympathy for soldiers fighting on both sides of the war. Fighting the kind of high intensity artillery war Russia and Ukraine are fighting right now is probably close to hell, but having to deal with snow, cold and wind on top of it? I can't imagine a worse environment to fight in, short of space. As horrible as jungle warfare can be, I'd take it any day of the week over fighting in a Russian or Ukrainian winter. 

This storm does show that mud season is in full swing and it will affect both sides attempts at offensives. This is the worst time of it as well as in deep winter the snow and ground hardens enough that you can still attack. Not so much in fall, when all this snow is likely to melt a bit and turn everything into mud. 

That doesn't mean the war will stop, far from it. It just means that whatever battles that happen will likely involve dismounted infantry and not armor. To be fair, that's what Ukraine has been doing already. After horrendous casualties Ukraine mostly fights with infantry and is keeping their armor in reserves. Russia has been using armor more, especially around Adviika, but they will probably have to go back to regular infantry attacks.