Russian Army losses in Ukraine have been a big surprise to Putin. His ground forces have actually met heavy resistance, with an estimate of about 30,000 Russian soldiers killed (updated 4/29/2022), and tens of thousands injured. These soldiers have low spirits, are not motivated to fight and kill their next-door neighbors, and lots of have actually sabotaged their own vehicles in the hope that this will keep them out of combat.
Russian Army Losses in Ukraine have been extreme
Keep in mind that Russia has actually deployed nearly its entire army in Ukraine, yet has actually made reasonably little progress in taking over and controlling the country.
Russia has been unable to keep her tanks and other equipment maintained and supplied with fuel, which has rendered much of them unusable. Many other automobiles have actually been destroyed by Ukraine forces or just abandoned by the Russian army. Because their front-line soldiers have not been resupplied, these abandoned soldiers on the front lines have resorted to breaking into stores to steal food.
Propaganda Cannot Hide Tens of Thousands of Casualties
This is not a war that has the support of the Russian public, and while Putin has actually strived to hide his losses, the many dead and injured Russian soldiers continue to stack up, which is not something that can be hidden for long. The pain that sanctions are having on the Russian public increases daily, and Putin’s propaganda machine cannot make that pain vanish.
Artillery and Bombs at Best Make You a Ruler over Rubble
The net effect of these heavy losses and a relatively inefficient army and air force has actually lead Russia to cut her losses by relying on using artillery and bombs to attack cities from a distance. This is not a method for ruling a land, rather at best it is a way of turning a city into a wasteland.
After a number of weeks, Putin is not winning this War at home or in Ukraine
Instead, Russia has turned to artillery bombardment of mainly civilian targets, and usage of about 100 missiles. Russia has been unable or reluctant to release adequate airpower to dominate Ukraine airspace, partially because Ukraine’s air defenses are mostly mobile, that makes them hard to find. This has resulted in the loss of about 100 of Russia’s aircraft and perhaps now Russia has either an unwillingness to risk too many more losses or has adopted a strategy of holding aircraft in reserve until they have the ability to eliminate Ukraine’s air defenses. With supply lines cut off to many of her soldiers, these abandoned soldiers are roaming the Ukraine countryside stealing food.
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