Strategic Analyses: Russo-Ukrainian Conflict - How Would You Have Applied Military Forces To Achieve Russian Strategic Objectives In Ukraine?

This is a thread for self-proclaimed Arm Chair Strategists to discuss their alternative approaches to the application of military force towards achieving Russian strategic objectives in Ukraine. Please format your initial contributions as such:

1) List your proposed strategic objectives, in descending order.

2) List your proposed military objectives, in descending order.
A. Provide a map, or maps, using the, conventional, directional arrow method to indicate assaults, and use Arabic numerals to order operations temporally. (Feel free to either post a single, general, map comprising your grand-strategy, or specific maps, detailing your strategy in series.)

3) Detail the processes by which the military objectives are expected to achieve the strategic objectives.

Have fun!

0. Before the war, activate 50k reserves and redeploy 50k from other military districts and house them in Voronezh to bring total forces readiness to 300k (+100k), armed but held in reserve without being in the open to make available forces look smaller than they were.

1. Repeat what Russia did day 1: shock and awe, attack on all axes with 50% commitment, basically prevent a low cost tripwire force drop from US.

2. Week 2 Northern: assume defensive position near Kiev as resistance stiffens. Advancing too far forms a salient. Even with the Dnieper at your back it is still easy to get surrounded here. Sit on the road junctions near Kiev and control them.

3. Week 2 Eastern: Commit reserves to Kharkiv axis and Mariupol. Focus on Kharkiv and Mariupol as points of pressure. Use Donbass militia as a blocking force to pin Ukrainian forces in the east while Kharkiv is sieged and nearby roads seized, in particular the M03 and M18 southbound.


3. Week 3 Western: consolidate near Kherson. No reason to drive on Mykolaiv if the objective is to take the east as Kherson already controls the crossing and 2 road junctions. Hit bridges on M22 and M04 with air power.

4. Week 3 Eastern: Mariupol would be taken by now thanks to having additional forces from Crimea and Donbass, both due to the extra mobilized reserves and repurposing forces in Kherson for Donbass. From Mariupol, head north on road

5. Week 3 Northern: I expect a Ukrainian counterattack here that should be met with air power and artillery to blunt their advance. Any retreat should be orderly and inflict maximum damage to delay and attrition their forces. Russian Navy Tu-95s should drop hundreds of small bottom mines into the Dnieper all along the river. If Russian forces here are pushed back, send a few Iskanders at the remaining bridges in Kiev as a parting gift.

5. Week 4 Eastern: finish Kharkiv thanks to extra mobilized reserves. Drive southbound on M03 for strategic mobility faster than Ukrainian Army retreating westwards in wilderness and meet up with forces heading north from Mariupol to hit them at their sides.

6. Week 4 Western: Kherson holds, no supplies are getting through to the Eastern army.

I would have done pretty much what the Russians have been doing. But I would have reinforced the units close to Kiev with more long range fires than they have done thus far.