We wrote a few hours ago that Russian power appears to have underestimated the Ukrainian resistance:
Now, many Russian or pro-Russian users on various social media sites are angry because the leaders of the Russian army not only underestimate the resistance of Ukrainians, but also completely underestimate them. Decision makers expected most of Ukraine to welcome the incoming Russian forces as a kind of liberator that would free it from the “Nazis who ruled Kiev.”
President Vladimir Putin seems to have had or was more or less of an opinion:
And the reason for this, according to the Russians on Twitter, is largely due to the fact that many high-ranking Russian officers “bred up” in Soviet times, when Ukraine and Russia were one country, so They think of Ukrainians as friends and brothers and expect to reciprocate this attitude.
This explains what we were previously curious about, that some Russian formations crept into some country town with lightly armed chariots moving separately, seemingly recklessly, as if they had not even expected armed resistance.
There are also users Who say that Russian soldiers absolutely do not accept any necessary defensive operations. They do not set up advanced operations centers, do not set up checkpoints, and do not patrol. They simply pass through acquired settlements without being properly inspected, ensuring that Ukrainian soldiers and armed civilians in the area can easily retake the area, and can also attack invading occupiers and subsequent logistical convoys.
If that was indeed the case, then this situation would definitely be a huge problem in the long run. The Ukrainian government is only arming civilians with machine guns and Molotov cocktails, if Russia is not at all prepared to secure the occupied settlements, they may suffer heavy losses due to attacks by irregular forces.
These views have not been shared by official military or government sources, but they appear to be a logical explanation for some of the operational deviations.
Cover image illustration, made during a military exercise. Photo by Yuri Smitok/TASS via Getty Images
