Putin misjudged his adversary and squandered his military advantages
By David Ignatius
STUTTGART, Germany — As Gen. Mark A. Milley visits Europe to assess the first week of Russia’s war against Ukraine, the most obvious lesson is that no military operation ever goes according to plan. Like so many leaders through history, Russian President Vladimir Putin is discovering that he badly misjudged his adversary and squandered some of his advantages.
A first signal that Putin may be revising his timetable came Thursday, with Russian and Ukrainian negotiators agreeing on “humanitarian corridors” to allow the evacuation of civilians from threatened cities. This pause may just be a prelude to a renewed Russian onslaught, but it shows that Russian hopes of a quick, easy victory were misplaced. One week into the war, Ukraine has the moral and psychological edge.
“The Ukrainian military is fighting with extraordinary courage and skill against Russian forces that outnumber and outgun them,” Milley, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told me and two other journalists traveling with him Thursday.
Seeing this war through the eyes of Milley and the NATO commanders he’s visiting offers an education in the military history that is being written on the Ukrainian battlefield. As in so many past wars, the invaders miscalculated. The Russians possess superiority in numbers and firepower. But the Ukrainians, so far, have been able to offset that mismatch through courage, charismatic leadership, good intelligence and strong alliances.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2022/03/03/putin-underestimate-ukraine-resistance/
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