There are reports that many Russian soldiers are lacking in morale for the invasion of Ukraine. They were told repeatedly like the rest of us that there would be no invasion. The Ukrainians are very similar, and most of them know Putin has exaggerated the things they have supposedly done or not done wrong. And rather than welcoming them as liberators and throwing down their arms to surrender, the Ukrainians have been fighting back hard. But they have a lot more armor and weapons.
What may eventually give them victory, especially in the crucial battle for control of Kyiv, Ukraine's capital city, is that while most of their soldiers are poorly motivated, there is a corps of veterans of the war in Syria. Some of these are experienced in urban warfare and participated in retaking the city of Aleppo from rebels against the Syrian government. However, the effort to do that involved massively bombing and destroying buildings in the city to the point that it is a wrecked ruin. Is this what these soldiers will do to the beautiful and historic city of Kyiv?
Barkley Rosser
Fair point. OTOH, there are a lot more urban areas in Ukraine than in Syria and only so many experienced Russian soldiers. I think a bigger concern would be Putin's willingness to launch chemical weapons attacks against civilians. But would Putin's lieutenants be willing to risk the consequences of obeying such an order from Putin? My guess is that the Pentagon has been on the phone with a few Russian generals.
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