Written by Hassan Hamed Al-Baldawi

While Russia is openly using heavy artillery, tanks, armored vehicles, aircraft and other lethal weapons in its
 war with Ukraine, it seems that there is another “smarter” battle secretly planned by Russian generals who send “deceptive” signals aimed at confusing and misleading their enemies, and setting traps for them. According to a report by the American New York Times.
In a recent video clip filmed through the window of a bus, the Russian checkpoint in the besieged Kherson region of Ukraine appears deserted, as passengers cheer about the Russian withdrawal from the region.
It was not clear who filmed the video, which was widely circulated on social media, but some analysts suggested it might be "just a ploy" by Moscow to lure Ukrainian soldiers into a trap
Analysts pointed out that this clip is in addition to other suspicious footage that was monitored in the strategic city of Kherson on the same day that the video was filmed. Russian flags disappeared from the administrative buildings in the city, and a Russian general stated on state television that the army “may have to abandon Medina,” instead of asking him to mobilize forces as had been expected.
In his first acknowledgment of the deteriorating situation in the region, Russian President Vladimir Putin said, during a celebration of Russian National Unity Day, last Friday: “The people living in Kherson should now be removed from the region witnessing the most dangerous operations; Because civilians should not suffer.
For a month now, the military and civilian leadership of Russia has been sending repeated messages indicating its intention to withdraw from Kherson.
Moscow withdrew its military equipment from Kherson, told civilians to leave the area and removed some objects seen as culturally significant to the Russians - such as the bones of Prince Grigory Alexandrovich Potemkin, the Russian military leader who persuaded his lover, Catherine the Great, one of Russia's most prominent, important and great rulers Throughout history, the annexation of this region in 1783.
The Southern Military Command in Ukraine and the Military Intelligence Agency supported the opinions of analysts who said that these Russian moves are a hoax, and confirmed that Russia has deployed additional forces on the western bank of the river and is preparing to fight in urban areas.
They are deliberately trying to convince us that they are withdrawing in order to lure Ukraine into launching a premature attack on the city," Natalia Homenyuk, a spokeswoman for the Southern Command, told a Ukrainian television news network over the weekend.
For his part, the director of the Military Intelligence Agency in Ukraine, Kirillo Budanov, said that the Russians “create the illusion that everything is lost and that they have withdrawn from Kherson. But what is happening in reality is the exact opposite, as they are deploying new military units and preparing the streets of the city for defense.
"Deception is as old as warfare, and all militaries practice it, but the Russians have put a special emphasis on deception and deception in their military doctrine," said Tor Bokfoll, a senior researcher at the Norwegian Defense Research Establishment, a military think tank.
As for Michael Kaufman, an expert on Russian military affairs at the Center for Naval Analyzes, based in the United States, he commented on the matter, saying: “The situation in Kherson is murky and not completely clear. There are contradictory signals regarding the final Russian withdrawal from the region.
The Russian military, and the Soviet military before it, have long shown an interest in operations that ooze deception and deception, and have been known to develop a set of tricks that have been taught in military academies for decades and applied in Afghanistan, Chechnya, Syria and Ukraine.
However, analysts say that the situation is different in the Ukraine war, as officials in Kiev have the ability to detect these tricks, and even respond in kind to this Russian deception.
calendar_month07/06/2023 04:23 pm