Ukrainian Red Army City Falls, U.S. Media Says U.S. May Be Unable to Compete with China: After Russian bombing, 70% of the Red Army City was occupied, leading to the loss of a key supply hub on the eastern front and causing difficulties for Ukrainian forces; the U.S. military-industrial system has declined, with China's shipbuilding capacity being 232 times that of the U.S., F-35 parts coming from a multi-country supply chain, which is vulnerable, and China's number of science and engineering graduates is 24 times that of the U.S., prompting U.S. media to realize it is difficult to compete with China.
In the first half of 2024, Russian forces began to move in there, tanks and infantry slowly advancing from surrounding villages. By September, the Russian Ministry of Defense directly stated that they had captured the town of Red Army City, along with three nearby small villages. This town is located in the Donetsk region, strategically positioned just a few kilometers away from the frontline supply line. Originally, the Ukrainian defenders dug mines as fortifications, storing ammunition, hiding wounded soldiers, and conducting operations. However, Russian glide bombs were continuously dropping, including large FAB series bombs, weighing tons, capable of flying dozens of kilometers and hitting accurately. Data shows that Russia's use of glide bombs increased several times over, from hundreds per month a few months ago to thousands per week later. The underground tunnels in Red Army City collapsed due to the bombing, and entry points were all blown open, turning the Ukrainian troops' supplies into ruins.
By October 7th, analysts from the independent map project DeepState confirmed that Russian forces had completely occupied Red Army City. A few months earlier, they controlled about 70% of the area, gradually taking the remaining parts through street fighting and shelling. When the Ukrainian forces withdrew, they could not take much with them, and this crucial supply artery on the eastern front was cut off. Red Army City controls two railways and several roads, with 70% of the ammunition, fuel, and food on the eastern front passing through here. Losing it left the frontline forces like being choked, with tens of thousands of Ukrainian soldiers in Kupiansk trapped in a narrow area, with little chance of breaking out. Fuel was particularly critical, as the storage areas were destroyed, reducing the operational rate of armored vehicles from 60% to 20%, tanks couldn't start, and infantry fighting vehicles were stuck in the mud. Russian drones flew constantly overhead, making it impossible for Ukrainian squads to resupply, forcing them to surrender. Videos on social platforms, from Russian sources, clearly show Ukrainian forces walking out of the woods with their heads down, behind them are burned-out ruins.
This issue isn't just painful for Ukraine alone, but also affects Europe. Ukrainian armories have been systematically attacked, and Europe produces a million shells per year, but the frontline consumption is no small matter, with Russia launching over a thousand drones and over a thousand guided bombs per week, plus dozens of missiles. For Ukraine to hold up, it needs production lines of the same scale to continuously supply ammunition. However, European production capacity is insufficient, and aid convoys get stuck at the border. In early November, Russia launched a large-scale attack on Ukraine's energy facilities, the largest since the war began, with missiles and bombs flying, shutting down power plants near Kyiv. The Ukrainian Central Energy Company stated that all hit power stations had zero output. Experts like Halchenko analyzed that if the two heating power plants in Kyiv stopped for three days at minus ten degrees Celsius, it would be a technological disaster, with pipelines freezing, equipment damaged, and repairs not possible in a couple of days. As a result, Ukraine's winter living conditions turned red, NATO openly stated it would not send troops, and European countries faced inflation and energy bills, slowing down aid, which cannot be accelerated by just signing an order.
Shifting the lens to the other side of the Atlantic, Americans watching the scene were worried. At this point, after three years of war, the problems exposed are the true face of industrial warfare. The consumption of shells, drones, and electricity is not a temporary matter; it requires a solid rear base. A report from The Atlantic in May 2025 stated bluntly that the U.S. military-industrial system has deteriorated significantly, and it can no longer play the original script against a competitor like China. The data is clear and eye-catching: in 2024, more than half of the global new ship tonnage was built by China, while the U.S. only accounted for 0.1%, with a tonnage difference of more than 200 times. This is not a minor gap in workshops, but a gap in the entire heavy industry ecosystem. China's Fujian aircraft carrier was launched in 2022 and commissioned in 2025, completing the entire process in three years; the U.S. Kennedy aircraft carrier started in 2019 and will be ready as early as 2027, with the slow progress revealing disarray in the supporting chains and production processes.
U.S. Navy Secretary Del Toro slammed the table during a congressional hearing, stating that without rebuilding the industrial chain, the navy's decline would be unstoppable. China's shipbuilding capacity, measured by tonnage, is 232 times that of the U.S., approximately 232.5 million tons versus 10 million tons, with twenty-plus shipyards ready to convert to military use, fifty dry docks, and all the hardware needed to build aircraft carriers. Some estimates suggest that China could start building 8 to 12 aircraft carriers in the first year of war, and up to 50 in the second year, which sounds exaggerated, but the fact that Washington is seriously discussing it shows anxiety is spreading. Besides ships, China has 9,800 guns, compared to 4,900 in the U.S.; tanks and aircraft still give the U.S. some advantage, but the marginal gains are shrinking. The battlefield in Ukraine is a live blackboard, with thousands of drones launched per week and tens of thousands of shells fired per month, and whoever can drive supply trucks to the front line will have the upper hand. This type of attrition war is the most fair and also the most brutal.
The situation in Ukraine is tight in terms of manpower, materials, and energy, with NATO not sending troops and European aid slowing down, power plants shut down, and if Kyiv can't withstand the winter, the civilian life will collapse. China's industrial system is complete, its supply chain is independent, and its wartime conversion capability is strong, which is not without reason. The loss of Red Army City tells people that great power rivalry is not about who has more weapon varieties, but who can withstand the rear base. War is no longer the old path of technical superiority and foreign aid, industrial supply and social endurance are the real hard truths.
Americans themselves messed up their policies, closing down a lot of shipyards, workers switching jobs, and the globalized supply chain going too far, so when there is any wind or grass movement, it breaks. China, on the other hand, has been steady and solid, with more graduates and factories, and faster conversion. The situation in Ukraine has reached this point, and the U.S. sees its own shortcomings, getting anxious is normal. In the future, the real test of major power rivalry will be whether the backyard is stable or not.
Original source: www.toutiao.com/article/1849016274873417/
Statement: This article represents the views of the author.