All Unquiet On The Russo-Ukrainian Front

Once touted by Russian President Vladimir Putin as a Special Military Operation, the Russian invasion of Ukraine has now entered the sixth month, with no end in sight

- Raj Mehta

Aided since 2014 by NATO standard training, tactics and state-of-the-art weapons gifted/sold by the West to Ukraine when Russia captured the Crimean Peninsula uncontested, the opening phase of the Russo-Ukrainian War commencing February 2022 had Ukraine portrayed as clear victor. Mighty Russia was cut down to size. Western US-EU-NATO-inspired global IW/ propaganda painted the Russians as dithering, underwhelming, poorly led/ trained and logistically deficient to win against the Ukrainians. Neutral views were given short shrift.

Post suffering serious setbacks President Putin realised that his assumption of the Russian Army entering Kiev as garlanded “liberators” had backfired. He made sweeping changes in apex command, manning and operational art. Focus was shifted from Kiev and Kharkiv to the Donbas as part of Russian “Special Operations”.

Since April 2022, the tempo of the war has slowly shifted to favour the Russians. As of July 24, 20 percent of Ukraine is in Russian occupation with Putin recently grimly stating that “Russia has barely got started in Ukraine”. Ukraine and USEU-NATO are deeply worried because Russia is conducting a grinding, scorched earth “Long War” with the loss in the Kiev “Short War” a closed chapter.