Putin made a critical mistake: what factors will be key to Ukraine’s victory

Putin was critically mistaken: what factors will be key for Ukraine’s victory Dzvenislava Moshovskaya

Russia's war against Ukraine/Collage 24 Channel

Russia's war against Ukraine has continued since 2022. Despite the fact that Vladimir Putin expected a lightning victory, the Defense Forces are giving a powerful rebuff to the invaders, which will one way or another lead to victory over the enemy.

King's College London Professor Lawrence Friedman told 24 Channel that ending the war with Russia will be difficult, because they have a powerful military force. He added that the aggressor country made basic mistakes at the beginning of the invasion because it behaved very arrogantly.

Russia's Mistakes

Lawrence Friedman opined that at the beginning of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Russia was too confident in its victory, so it did not plan its actions well.

Many believed that Russia had significant advantages, but it failed to take advantage of them. It was then expected that Russian troops would be able to capture more territory, given the difficulties Ukraine faced in terms of ammunition, air defense and manpower, he said.

According to the professor, Russia, when carrying out an attack on Ukraine, not only stretched Ukrainian forces, but also its own, and therefore did not achieve significant progress.

As a result of this Russians, firstly, find it very difficult to wage war, so they invest a lot of resources to achieve at least some small results. Secondly, Russian forces in Crimea are very vulnerable, which is a significant problem for Putin. Thirdly, it is difficult for the occupiers to constantly maintain the tempo of this war.

Obviously, Ukraine is also facing difficulties, but it is fighting for its country, and Russia is not. The enemy understands the futility of his efforts, noted Lawrence Friedman.

He suggested that Russia will somehow come to the realization that all the losses and international isolation , because of aggression against Ukraine, are not worth continuing the war.

At the same time, it is impossible to predict when will the Kremlin understand this. Despite all the advantages, Russia has not yet been able to show that it can win a decisive victory on the battlefield, the professor emphasized.

Is Russia ready for negotiations

• The Kremlin is not ready for a just world, which is confirmed by the “conditions” put forward by Vladimir Putin for ending the war. This was stated by the President of Ukraine Vladimir Zelensky during a press conference at the Peace Summit in Switzerland.
• President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen said that achieving peace in Ukraine requires gradual steps. According to her, Putin is not serious about ending the war, since he demands capitulation and surrender of Ukrainian territories. She noted that the Russian dictator insists on disarming Ukraine, leaving it vulnerable to further aggression, but no country would accept such conditions.
• The Russian dictator cynically stated that Russia did not start a war in Ukraine, and the Kremlin is supposedly “ready to start negotiations tomorrow.” These new statements by Putin came during a meeting with the leadership of the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs on June 14.