A symbol of defiance in the Russian invasion of Ukraine has fallen. The last of the resistance fighters hiding in that steel plant in Mariupol.
Ukraine actually ordered these one thousand fighters to surrender saying their mission to tie up Russian forces was complete.
This is where we are with things. It’s Day 84 of the war in Ukraine. No end in sight either.
As bad as the pictures look coming out of Ukraine, I think Russia looks even worse.
NATO’s Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg says Russia’s war is not going to plan and Ukraine could win the conflict.
The BBC reports that Britain’s Ministry of Defense estimates Russia has lost about a third of its ground combat force since the war began in February. The goal of sweeping across the country and toppling the Ukrainian government has failed.
What happened? The BBC report says Ukrainian resistance and logistical issues are the two key reasons.
I always wonder what the people in Russia are being told? Are they getting the truth? Probably not.
I’m reading a story at Yahoo News about a former Russian colonel who appeared on a panel show on Russian TV. Apparently, he was brutally honest about the situation.
Mikhail Khodaryonok said from a strategic position, the Ukrainian army can arm a million people. They can give them weapons from other nations.
Khodaryonok says that Russia needs to treat the threat of a million Ukrainian soldiers as a “reality in the nearest future.” He also said, “We need to consider this in our strategic calculations, that the situation will clearly get worse.”
He went on. “The biggest problem with our military and political situation is that we are in total geopolitical isolation. And the whole world is against us, even if we don’t want to admit it.”
This might be the first time an authority figure in Russia has been honest with the Russian people.
Will it change anything? Probably not. Russian disinformation runs deep. Really deep.
84 days in to this war. Ukraine fights on.