Opinion | Against all odds, the Ukrainians are winning. Russia’s initial offensive has failed. –

The Russian offensive has already reached its peak ”. The term military means that the army can no longer continue attacking without achieving most of its objectives. Analysts from the Institute for War Studies and the American Enterprise Institute, two Washington DC think tanks, assess “Ukrainian forces defeated the first Russian campaign in this war”. The war has stalled.

The biggest advance in the south was made by the Russians. They are close to building a “land bridge” between Crimea and the Russian-occupied territories in eastern Ukraine. weeks later brutal bombingThere are Russian troops gone to the city of Mariupol. It appears that Mariupol will eventually fall if the Ukrainian forces fail to somehow break through the Russian encirclement. But the long delay in the capture of Mariupol prevented Russian troops from encircling the Ukrainian troops fighting in the Donbas or accelerating their attack on Kiev.

Elsewhere, even in the south, the situation is deplorable for the invaders. Ukrainian troops counterattacked and drove the Russians out of Mykolaiv, a city of 470,000 people. As long as Mykolaiv remains free, the Russians will not be able to attack Odessa, the third largest city in Ukraine and the largest port on the Black Sea, by land, and therefore will not be able to risk an amphibious attack from the sea.

Kharkov, the second largest city in Ukraine, is located just 20 miles from the Russian border and is populated by ethnic Russians. It must have fallen quickly. But it is not yet besieged and continues to resist despite the terrible collapse. Russian artillery and missiles.

Russia’s main effort was to take Kiev, but Russia’s final offensive took place around the capital. March 9. remember there are pipes Did the column sink on the way to Kiev? He never reached the city. Ukrainian forces counterattacked and drove the Russians out of distant cities, so as not to bombard the city center with artillery shells. Satellite imagery Shows Russian troops entering defensive positions. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky remains in Kiev and unites his people and the world to resist Russian aggression.

In the early days of the war, Russia should have gained an aerial advantage, but Defective To do. One of the most surprising messages I read in the previous line comes from Yaroslav Trofimov of the Wall Street Journal. he is from twitter Friday: “Ukrainian streets are filled with military convoys carrying tanks, long-range artillery and even S-300s. [long-range surface-to-air missiles] Every day, all day, except fuel and ammunition. Don’t think that a single blow was dealt to a target moving just beyond the front line: Russia doesn’t have these capabilities.

This somehow means stopping the steady flow of Western aid; President Biden just announced that the $ 800 million package includes 800 Stinger anti-aircraft missiles, 2,000 Javelin anti-tank missiles, 100 aircraft and over 20 million ammunition. Meanwhile, Russian supply convoys continue to be flooded with mud, lack of fuel and effective attacks from Ukraine.

This is a fiasco for Putin, and this bitter truth cannot be hidden in the fascist-style extravaganza he staged Friday, in which government employees dishonestly expressed support for a “special military operation”. This propaganda measure was carried on like the war itself: Putin was interrupted in the middle of his speech due to a technical flaw.

They say the morale of the Russian army Throw away Because the difficulties increase. Russian victim? absolute Morgues and hospitals in Belarus. Russian casualties In the first three weeks, it was estimated that at least 7,000 people were killed and 14,000 injured every day and another 1,000 were killed or injured. Russian forces were literally destroyed and at least 10 percent were killed. five generals According to reports, they are among the dead. The equipment losses are staggering: the Russians have lost 1500 carsIncluding 240 tanks. It is not clear how Russia will be able to replace all these people and materials.

According to reports, Putin is the head of the FSB Fifth Service, responsible for providing information on Ukraine under house arrest. This indicates that he is looking for displaced persons. But is he also looking for a solution? “Last week’s Stalinist speech criticized” Traitors and traitors “This is not a good sign; This shows that you are digging. Unfortunately, the only thing Russian troops are good at is killing civilians and they have the ability to kill more. Putin can aggravate the situation with chemical and even nuclear weapons. But there are also reports of progress in the peace talks.

Putin cannot stop indefinitely if his army continues to suffer heavy losses; There won’t be many soldiers left. Russian troops can still be stopped and regrouped for another attack, but their chances of success are dwindling by the day. Russia’s initial goal of regime change is already unattainable. Unexpected developments aside, Putin’s preference appears to be to lose fast or slow. After all, the Ukrainians really win.

Source: Washington Post

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