As Russia’s war in Ukraine marked its third month on Tuesday, there appeared to be no end in sight and few successes for Moscow on the battlefield.
, it had hoped to overtake the country in a blitz lasting only days or a few weeks. Many Western analysts thought so, too.
A little over a month into the invasion, Russia effectively acknowledged the failure of its blitz and pulled troops back from areas near Kyiv, declaring a shift of focus to the eastern industrial region of the Donbas, where Moscow-backed separatists have been fighting Ukrainian forces since 2014.Video by RFE/RL at Hostomel airport outside Kyiv shows the wreck of the world’s biggest plane, the Antonov 225, and destroyed Russian military vehicles on April 2, 2022.
They have made only incremental gains, clearly reflecting both Russia's insufficient troop numbers and the Ukrainian resistance. In one recent episode, Russians lost hundreds of personnel and dozens of combat vehicles while trying to cross a river to build a bridgehead. But Moscow seems to know that this objective is not currently achievable with the limited forces it has.
Many in Ukraine and the West thought Putin would pour resources into the Donbas to score a decisive triumph by Victory Day on May 9, when Moscow celebrates its defeat of Nazi Germany in World War II. Russia has falsely called the war a campaign to "denazify" Ukraine — a country with a democratically elected Jewish president who wants closer ties with the West.
But it never happened, and Russia has continued to rely on a limited force that was clearly insufficient against Ukrainian defenses. "So it will be a more of a positional battle at that point, O'Brien added, with success going to whoever "can take the pounding."
Australia Latest News, Australia Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Live blog: Zelenskyy accuses Russia of waging 'total war' in UkraineUkraine's Zelenskyy accuses Russia of waging 'total war' on his country, saying Moscow carried out some 4,500 air and missile strikes throughout its three-month military offensive Follow our live coverage:👇
Read more »
TV pundit indicates how Russia will reframe goals to claim Ukraine victoryPolitical scientist Sergey Mikheyev said 'the Ukrainian question' should not be left for future generations to deal with.
Read more »
Live updates | Ukraine: Russia is escalating Donbas assaultA Ukrainian court sentenced a 21-year-old Russian soldier to life in prison on Monday for killing a Ukrainian civilian, in the first war crimes trial held since Russia’s invasion.
Read more »
Starbucks in Russia closing for good amid Ukraine warAs the Russia-Ukraine war continues, Starbucks has decided to leave Russia permanently. Employees in the country, which number about 2,000, will get paid for six more months. Starbucks will also help them look for new jobs outside of the company. ☕
Read more »
Starbucks exits Russia over Ukraine war, closes 130 storesStarbucks said Monday it will permanently close up shop in Russia, joining hundreds of other western companies who have exited the country in response to the Kremlin’s invasion of Ukraine.
Read more »
Russia-Ukraine live updates: Russia publishes list of Americans banned from countryLATEST: Ukrainian Pres. Zelenskyy speaks at World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, calling on the West to recognize as a mistake the refusal to impose preventive sanctions on Russia and take decisive steps in that direction.
Read more »