About 10 days have passed since Russia invaded Ukraine. While Russia’s military is advancing further into the country, it is clear that all is not going according to President Vladimir Putin’s plan. Although Moscow made significant progress against Ukraine in the past, there have been many setbacks.
The Washington Examiner recently published a report detailing some of Russia’s mistakes in its endeavor to overthrow Ukraine’s government. Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall during a speech at the Air Force Association’s annual conference on Thursday stated that Putin has “made a very, very serious miscalculation.”
He said the Russian president “overestimated the capacity of his own military” and “severely underestimated the global reaction the invasion of Ukraine would provoke.” He also did not take into account the “will and courage of the people of Ukraine.”
Pentagon spokesman John Kirby made similar remarks on Wednesday, noting that the Russian offensive against the capital city of Kyiv has been “stalled.” The official explained that their troops “have been surprised by the stiff resistance that they are facing by the Ukrainians” and that their soldiers are dealing with fuel and food shortages.
The Washington Examiner noted:
Unsolved remains one aspect of fighting. It is Russia’s lack of control over Ukraine’s airspace. Russia has 1,511 combat aircraft, while Ukraine has fewer than 100, according to FlightGlobal’s 2022 World Air Forces directory.
“We’re seeing the same sort of activity in the air,” the senior official said. “There’s a certain risk-averse behavior. They are not necessarily willing to take high risks with their own aircraft and their own pilots, and of course, we’re seeing that on the ground in the fairly slow and stodgy progress that they have made.”
Other countries have also sent anti-aircraft and anti-tank weaponry to Ukraine. This has allowed them to hold off Russian forces and stopped them from taking power in Kyiv. While NATO tried to avoid the matter, it still gave military support to Ukraine.
Russia faces many challenges from outside. Russia is dealing with opposition from within to the military hostilities. Liberty Nation talked with Christopher Donnelly (specialist advisor to British House of Commons Defence Committee). He explained:
“Like all tyrants, the thing Putin fears most is revolt by his own people. It is evident how vulnerable Russia’s regime is to people finding out the truth, as evidenced by the immense effort made both by the Russian Army (and the state security organisations) to stop the Russian people from knowing about the events in Ukraine. If Russian casualties were to increase dramatically, and images of Russian soldiers brutalizing the very people Putin claims are no different from Russians themselves were to spread in from Ukraine, then the social pressure in Russia could reach bursting point.”
Putin appears to be aware of the Russian population’s threat, and may not want to see dead Russian soldiers. To prevent citizenry learning more about the conflict, Putin recently removed Twitter from Facebook and Facebook. Yahoo! News reported:
In a written statement, Russia’s media regulator Roskomnadzor said on Friday that Facebook, whose parent company is called Meta, had violated federal law by restricting access to Russian state-owned accounts, which the regulator said violated “fundamental human rights and freedoms, as well as the rights and freedoms of Russian citizens.”
This is the continuation of the report:
World opinion has been strongly influenced by social media posts that depict the terrible events in Ukraine, and also the courage of President Volodymyr Zilensky and its citizens. But Friday’s actions to further restrict access to information about the conflict may prevent Russian citizens from receiving a fuller picture of what is unfolding.
The failure of alleged efforts to assassinate Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is another sign that Putin faces internal resistance. Three attempts at his life by the Kremlin are reported to have been made. But he was able to avoid assassination because anti-war elements in Russia’s Federal Security Service tipped him off to the attacks.
These are but a few examples of Russian setbacks. Of course, this does not mean Putin will fail to overthrow Ukraine’s government. It is difficult to know how the situation will turn out. One thing is certain: Russia could be forced to pay a higher price if it succeeds.
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