Am I Unnecessarily Harsh...

 ... when I discuss what is happening in the US (West's in general) military "analytical" sphere? I think I am overly kind. I want to stress again--real military education and background are as complex as neurosurgery or medicine in general. Not to mention this art element as in Operational Art. And here is the issue: military-intel professional must constantly weight the reliability of information it handles. Here is a today's example from our friend Marat.

Here is the map of Pokrovsk operational axis with Nevelskoe cauldron circled on the map. Forget about "stopped" (per Syrskiy and US media) drive towards Pokrovsk, as you can see yourself it continues, but here is another example, albeit on a much larger scale: 

Suddenly, on February 8, 1945 two colossal Red Army Fronts (Army Groups)--1st Ukrainian and 2nd Belorussian--instead of supporting 1st Belorussian Front which is within reach of Berlin (50 kilometers give and take), turn one south, launching strategic (Upper and Lower) Silesian Strategic Offensive, while 2nd Belorussian Front launches East Pomeranian Strategic Offensive. Hm, why didn't Red Army commit all of its forces to capturing Berlin in February 1945. Well, for the same reason, as Marat's map (and I know why it is the closest to truth operational map out there) shows--you do NOT tolerate any kind of groupings of the enemy on your flanks, period. Operational Art 101. And now one can see the expansion of the Pokrovsk Bulge not only to the West but also to the South and North. Now, look how Red Army starts Berlin Offensive Operation on April 16, 1945. See the front-line (in Blue) at the start?

See the difference between February and April 1945? Obviously, for people who grew up on Hollywood BS and Patton's 3rd Army "operations"--running primarily against 10 operational Wehrmacht tanks in Lorraine, it is difficult to comprehend that right now Russian Army at Pokrovsk operational axis eliminates remnants of VSU forces in cauldron and pockets before... whatever Russian General Staff decides to do next. But, what do I know... after all, it was the United States that defeated Hitler.