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Militarily, the Russian invasion is a disaster so far: US experts
But the failures of the first days, including vastly underestimating the Ukrainians' willingness to fight back, could lead to a frustrated Moscow deciding to unleash all its power and indiscriminately destroying large swathes of Ukraine, they said.
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Ukrainian servicemen ride on tanks towards the front line with Russian forces in the Lugansk region of Ukraine on February 25, 2022. Ukrainian forces fought off Russian troops in the capital Kyiv on the second day of a conflict that has claimed dozens of lives, as the EU approved sanctions targeting President Vladimir Putin. Small arms fire and explosions were heard in the city's northern district of Obolonsky as what appeared to be an advance party of Russia's invasion force left a trail of destruction. (AFP/Anatolii Stepanov)
T
he Russian military's initial invasion of Ukraine has been a surprising strategic and tactical blunder marked by food and fuel shortages, abandoned armored vehicles, aircraft losses and troop deaths, US experts say.
But the failures of the first days, including vastly underestimating the Ukrainians' willingness to fight back, could lead to a frustrated Moscow deciding to unleash all its power and indiscriminately destroying large swathes of Ukraine, they said.
US specialists who study the Russian military say they have been astonished by the mismanagement of the campaign, which has seen invading columns stalled, apparently hundreds of Russian armored vehicles lost, and the Ukrainians preventing the Kremlin's air force from controlling the skies.
"If you were going to screw it up two or three weeks in, I might understand it," said Scott Boston, a senior defense analyst at the Rand Corp. think tank.
"But if you, like, tripped over the doorframe on the way into the house, you have another issue," he said.
'Disaster, through and through'
The Pentagon and private sector experts expected Russian President Vladimir Putin's army to quickly destroy Ukraine's ability to fight back, undermining its command and control of the 200,000-strong Ukraine military, wrecking its missile defenses and destroying Kyiv's air force.
