Hubris and isolation led Vladimir Putin to misjudge Ukraine

[ificandream]

Washington Post/Paul Sonne, Ellen Nakashima, Shane Harris, John Hudson

More than six weeks into his war against Ukraine, Russian President Vladimir Putin is feeling the sting of failure.

Thousands of Russian battlefield deaths. Three front-line retreats by the Russian military. Millions of Ukrainians who will never forgive Moscow. More isolation than ever — and perilously few goals achieved.

Putin is now regrouping to focus his military campaign on Ukraine’s east in what is widely seen as “Plan B,” after his forces failed to topple Ukraine’s government or wrest control of its biggest cities. All the while, questions are mounting about how a Russian leader steeped in security policy and known for railing against the folly of regime-change wars could have sleepwalked into a such a strategic morass.

At issue is a broader quandary that will occupy historians for years: How could Russia — a country with such deep familial, cultural and historic ties to its western neighbor — get Ukraine so wrong?

Read more: https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/hubris-and-isolation-led-vladimir-putin-to-misjudge-ukraine/ar-AAW6KdW?ocid=BingNews

[Shanti Shanti Shanti]

1. A bit premature, no? Russia will attack for weeks, months or more till it gets what it wants

Why do people act like the war is over? It's not a movie.

[anamnua]

3. What's the weather like in St. Petersburg? NT.

[Shanti Shanti Shanti]

5. Hahahaha, u calling me a Russian troll? Thats funny, sorry to disturb the happy happy joy joy thread

[anamnua]

6. Whatever you say, comrade.

[Shanti Shanti Shanti]

9. The best Russian mail order brides come from St Petersburg. wonder if their price has dropped

[anamnua]

14. You have beautiful women over there.

I'll grant you that much.

[brush]

8. It's already not gotten what it wants. What are you talking about.

And you're right, the war is not over. Much time for more Russian failures.

[Shanti Shanti Shanti]

11. Russia doesn't fight precision wars, they scorched the earth, it's just the beginning

[brush]

12. We know. Time for more Russian defeats, comrade.

[Biophilic]

2. There are a lot of things that cause blindness, but still that is a large question.

How did Russia get Ukraine so wrong?

[haele]

7. Arrogance and confirmation bias based on 2014.

Because Russian puppets and seeded "citizenry" in the east and old former Soviets favor Russia, along with recently outlawed corrupt media propogandists, mainstream Russia forgot that most Ukrainians have not willingly wanted to be Russian since the collapse of the Soviet Union. If not before.
Most Ukrainians - especially the emerging Ukrainian middle class - don't want to live under Oligarchs in a client status to Moscow.

But Moscow never considered what the Ukrainians wanted, just what would benefit Russia. Then again, Moscow doesn't consider what Siberia or any of the other vast but poor regions want. It serves Russia to keep those regions in a "traditional" mid-1930's Soviet subsistence economic state, totally beholden on Moscow for any infrastructure or "improvements".

Haele

[pwb]

4. Go to hear Ukraine is taking the fight inside Russia.

Blowing up bridges and such. Get some Comrade little man.

[LakeArenal]

10. When everyone tells you what you want to hear on fear of death.

The idea you are omnipotent becomes your reality.

Right, Donald?

[Crunchy Frog]

13. I've been watching a fascinating series on YouTube called Russian Roulette.

It was made in 2014-2015 and basically chronicles the whole Russian aggression against Ukraine that started with the annexation of Crimea. It's direct coverage on the ground, as it happens, and it's giving me a lot more context and background for understanding current events.

One of the things you can see in this series is how astonishingly weak the Ukrainian military was. There's scene after scene of whole military installations surrendering to the separatists, or even joining them, or trying to engage them and ending up running and leaving vast amounts of heavy military equipment behind for them.

I suspect that Putin believed that he was still dealing with that military, and didn't realize that he's spent the past eight years training the Ukrainians military into a world class fighting force.

Anyway, here's the 1st episode in the series, if anyone is interested.