Vladimir Putin may be “finished” invasion of Ukraine after underestimating the military, social and economic resistance at home and abroad, the military expert suggested.
Professor Michael Clark said that sending soldiers to capture Kyiv was “extremely stupid” and could have been Putin’s “peak moment” that would eventually lead to his downfall.
Many believe that Russian forces have been fighting Ukrainian military resistance and civil disobedience since they entered the country 11 days ago.
Today President Vladimir Zelensky vowed that “God will not forgive” and Ukraine “will not forget” the massacre of civilians by Russian troops, saying that “judgment day” is coming for them as Moscow was criticized for opening “humanitarian corridors” for civilians to flee. with routes leading to Russia itself.
Speaking on the Westminster Hour on BBC Radio 4, Professor Clarke said that “every day that the Ukrainian government continues to work and stand is a political victory for it and a political defeat for Russia.”
“The Russians can occupy the country on a superficial level. But given that the Ukrainians now hate them – and you’re talking about a big country, a physically big country of 45 million people – it’s completely impossible that the Russians could control Ukraine in the way they thought it was likely, or the way Putin thought. probably,” he said.
“This is a completely impossible scenario in which Putin deployed his armed forces, this is a huge strategic mistake, which, by the way, has now escalated into a political crisis in Russia… this is Putin’s peak. After that, Putin is finished.
Professor Michael Clark said that sending soldiers to take Kyiv was “extremely stupid” and could have been “Putin’s peak moment” that would ultimately lead to his downfall.
Speaking on the Westminster Hour on BBC Radio 4, Professor Clarke said that “every day that the Ukrainian government continues to work and stand is a political victory for it and a political defeat for Russia.”
Many believe that Russian forces have been fighting Ukrainian military resistance and civil disobedience since they entered the country 11 days ago.
“We don’t know how long it will take, maybe a few years, maybe quite quickly. But there is no way out of this, this is a huge mistake on his part.”
Zelensky, in a nightly address to his compatriots on the Orthodox holiday of Forgiveness Sunday, recalled how a family of four was among eight civilians killed by Russian mortars while trying to escape from the city of Irpen — near Kiev — earlier in the day. “We will not forgive. We won’t forget,” he told listeners.
“We cannot forgive hundreds and hundreds of victims. Not thousands and thousands of victims,” he added. “God will not forgive. Not today. Not tomorrow. Never.’
Ukraine claims to be inflicting heavy casualties on the invading Russians, and the defense ministry claims to have killed more than 11,000 troops, about 290 tanks, 1,000 armored personnel carriers, 46 aircraft, 68 helicopters and 117 artillery pieces as of Monday morning. .
None of these figures have been independently verified. Russia admitted losses, but last week gave a figure of 500 deaths and has not updated it since.
Early Monday, there were unconfirmed reports of heavy Russian casualties around the captured city of Kherson overnight – dozens of helicopters were put out of action along with artillery columns – but they were also unconfirmed.
The exact number of civilian casualties is not known, although Ukraine estimates it to be in the thousands, as residential areas of major cities are indiscriminately bombarded with thermobaric and cluster munitions, and there is evidence that “combat squads” were targeting civilian vehicles . The UN estimates that 1.5 million people have fled the fighting.
Professor Clarke added: “He (Putin) took on a country that doesn’t want to be invaded because, for a number of reasons, he became obsessed with Ukraine and tried to use it as leverage to reset the entire European security architecture from the end.” cold war. This is very, very stupid of him.”
Yesterday the Commander-in-Chief of the British Forces proposed Vladimir Putin“destroyed” Russian forces may lose the war in Ukraine.
said Admiral Sir Tony Radakin. Russiathe Russian troops were “in disarray” and the invasion was going “not very well”.
His comments yesterday represent the most optimistic of how the conflict could end, but it comes on another grim day when Russian troops opened fire on families fleeing the fighting.
When the invasion began less than two weeks ago, it was considered inevitable that Russian tanks would drive into Kyiv during few hours. But after a series of strategic miscalculations and remarkable resistance by Ukrainian troops on the battlefield, the outcome of the campaign could now be in doubt.
Sir Tony, a former head of the Royal Navy who was appointed chief of the defense staff late last year, spoke after eight Russian planes were shot down in 24 hours.
The Russians, contrary to their military doctrine, were also forced to admit that almost 500 of their soldiers had died.
And in a most embarrassing example of inappropriateness, a convoy of hundreds of Russian vehicles and some 15,000 military personnel stopped.
The column, including tanks, rocket batteries and armored personnel carriers, was appointed by Putin to encircle Kyiv and force the Ukrainians into submission.
But the operation is said to be at least a month behind schedule, according to British military sources. Given the unified approach to sanctions that the UK, the US and other world powers have demonstrated, the head of the Kremlin may not be able to sustain the military campaign for so long.
Asked by the BBC yesterday whether Russia’s takeover of Ukraine was ‘inevitable’, Sir Tony replied: ‘No. I think we have seen a Russian invasion that is not going well.
“I think we are also seeing remarkable resistance from Ukraine, both its armed forces and its people, and we are seeing the unity of the entire globe come together to put pressure on Russia.
“Russia is suffering, Russia is an isolated power. He is less strong than ten days ago. Some of the forward units of the Russian forces were destroyed by the Ukrainian response.
“You also saw major failures in terms of maintenance and equipment failure. Russia hasn’t acted on this scale since World War II, and it’s incredibly complex and complex.”