Will Ukraine’s troops encircle Putin’s troops in Kyiv? This is the question that has circulated military minds over the last 48 hours.
Russia’s forces stopped advancing towards Kyiv a few days ago. In fact, the forces attacking Kyiv from the northwest are now cut off from their supply lines. The 40 mile traffic jam has dispersed and 100% of the invading forces have descended upon Ukraine. As a result, Putin does not have any reinforcements waiting on deck.
Moreover, just this week. John Francis Kirby, a retired rear admiral in the United States Navy serving as the Press Secretary for the United States Department of Defense told reporters at a Pentagon briefing:
“We continue to see indications that the Russians did not properly plan for logistics and sustainment…We know that they continue to have fuel issues across their force, and that they’re still struggling with food.”
On the subject of morale Kirby said:
“You know how important morale is to military effectiveness and cohesion…We certainly have indications that morale is a growing problem inside the Russian forces that are fighting in Ukraine.”
Word has gotten around this week of Russian soldiers running over their Colonel with a tank. How can morale not be at rock bottom when you consider all of the offenses that Putin and his Army command has inflicted on his own troops:
- Russians bombed their own forces.
- The lack of food’s pronouncement resulted in Putin asking China for meals to feed Russia’s troops in Ukraine. The soldiers are starving.
- Russians never told their soldiers that they were invading Ukraine, it was “an exercise that would last a few days.” Not that they were invading a civilized nation. Moreover, a nation with thousands of special operations troops trained by the United States’ most elite forces.
- Every night Russian troops face ambushes in the dark from Ukrainian hit and run. Rather “jungle warfare” tactics.
- Russian soldiers have almost no communication or gps and are at the mercy of their command. If part of a unit gets lost, they are probably not going to make it back.
- Russia is not removing the dead from the battlefield. This is an incredibly important part of warfare that dates back to ancient Greece. Leaving the dead is a sign that you don’t respect your troops and it sends a message to the survivors about who they are fighting for.
