(TheLibertyRevolution.com)- Russian forces may have lost momentum and reached a “culminating point,” according to Michael Ryan, a former deputy assistant secretary of defense for European and NATO policy.
Ryan believes the Russian ground troops are losing morale, and the invasion is running out of steam.
Russia has lost between 7,000 and 15,000 troops in just over a month and has lost around 230 heavily armored tracked vehicles as of March 17.
Ukraine’s intelligence is convinced the numbers are even more dire, believing more than 400 Russian tanks have been destroyed.
Ukraine has received billions of dollars in military and humanitarian aid from the United States and other NATO partners, potentially increasing Russia’s casualties and equipment loss.
Ryan explains that when an army runs out of resources, “it just reaches the limit,” which is their culminating point. One of the critical components is the number of losses they’ve sustained. The army simply runs out of supplies, loses morale, and wants it to end.
“[Russian losses are] significant from the standpoint of their ability to achieve their aims,” Ryan said. “It also has a significant impact on morale, and I think the Russian military started with very low morale at this operation.”
Ryan cannot emphasize enough that the Ukrainian army is attacking in a very, very sophisticated manner. The choices of who to attack and the vehicles to destroy, and the substantial number of colonels killed, they’re causing havoc and confusion among the Russian army, which means that the numbers are even more significant than they appear due to the precise targets the Ukrainians have chosen.
Also, this cannot be stressed enough; the troops’ morale is the “greatest obstacle” for the Russian military, based on its losses thus far.
The Russian troops have been out in the field for quite some time. The majority of them had no idea they were headed to war. And they certainly did not anticipate being involved in this kind of war.
“They aren’t executing well, and they aren’t well-supplied,” Ryan explained.
Often overlooked is the reality that many Russian troops have friends and family in Ukraine. This made it difficult for troops to understand why they were being ordered to invade the country and get fully on board.