One for you WW2/Modern guys:

Is it my over-active imagination or did the Ukrainians just repeat with the Russians around Izyium what the Germans did to the Soviets in WW2?   

Might indicate a lack of attention to past defeats in the Russian military education system.   

Looks like it.

Wouldn't have happened with Zhukov in charge.

QuoteWouldn't have happened with Zhukov Stalin in charge.

FIFY

  It WAS Stalin in charge     

he ordered Timoshenko to keep attacking west enabling Army Group Kleist to completely cut off a Russian pocket around Izyium following pretty much the same routes (presumably dictated by terrain) that the Ukrainians just used.

Been reading it up since my post.  The parallels are too many to be a coincidence although the southern pincer attacking north was much more successful for the Germans and closed the pocket such that apparently only 22,000 escaped out of a 1/4 million soviets. 

Nah! It was Timoshenko who was there.  If the boss had been there all would have been different.