Putin Shows Signs of Panic as He Calls on Ukraine Military to Mutiny – Opinion

Russian President Vladimir Putin spoke on Tuesday in an attempt to speed up the victory over Ukraine.

This account comes from The Guardian.

Looking dead-eyed into the camera on Friday, Vladimir Putin gave one of the most bizarre speeches of his 22 years as Russia’s leader, a directive that managed to sound alarming even in a week when he has ordered tanks into Ukraine and missile strikes on Kyiv.

“Once again I speak to the Ukrainian soldiers,” he said, addressing his enemy. “Do not allow neo-Nazis and Banderites to use your children, your wives and the elderly as a human shield. You have the power to take control of your destiny. It seems that it will be easier for us to come to an agreement than with this gang of drug addicts and neo-Nazis.”

Although it’s clear the Russians have the initiative, there are signs that the Russian military operation is entering the era of entropy. The Ukrainian Army’s likelihood of conducting a coup supporting the Russian invasion also looks pretty slim.

This is my opinion based on open source materials.

• The Russian Army’s reach exceeded its grasp. Instead of launching a single blow with a hammer, the Russians chose to attack on what appear to be four different axes. Unfortunately, the opposing axes do not mutually support each other. The Russian Army must create logistics tails for all major military attacks. This is no small task. A light infantry division of about 10,000 soldiers is the most difficult unit in U.S. Army. This division has a front-line strength of approximately 2,700 riflemen. They are supported by the other 7,300. The Russians saw this as a multi-directional, confusing attack to collapse the Ukrainian resistance. It seems that Russia is preventing Russia using its numerical advantage. Read Report: Russia fails to reach objectives for the first day despite a brave Ukrainian defense
• Volodymyr Zilensky has been a more powerful leader than any one thought. The smart money said that Zelensky would lead if Russia invaded. That hasn’t happened. Not only did he give a well-received speech trying to rally his countrymen, but he’s also been visible on the streets even though he is being hunted by Spetsnaz and GRU hit squads. Here’s Courage from Ukraine.
• Although the Ukrainian Army may be outmatched, it hasn’t been defeated and isn’t dissolving. Ukrainian defense minister is heroically distributing stories of Ukrainian heroism among the public.

VITALY SKAKUN IS A HERO AFTER SACRIFICING HIS LIFE TO BLOW UP THE HENICHESKY BRIDGE.
SKAKUN RADIOED HIS UNIT, TELLING THEM HE WOULD DO IT MANUALLY. SAYING GOODBYE. #Ukraine pic.twitter.com/jAA6LgXF2r

— Ukraine_Updates (@World_SPACE_EYE) February 25, 2022

• Russians have not been welcomed into Ukraine by its people. Russia may find itself at the center of a motivated and effective insurgency if this operation continues. Putin is probably more responsible for building Ukrainian nationalism today than anyone else in modern history.

None of this says Ukraine will prevail; what it does say is that the 48-hour blitzkrieg that culminated in Zelensky fleeing Kiev Putin planned doesn’t seem likely to materialize. As a result, Putin now is in the position of bringing this adventure to a swift conclusion or paying a much higher price than he’d intended.