The Ukrainians have destroyed Russia’s’ primary supply chain in the East, cutting off enemy means to refurbish their munitions, food, and water supplies. President Vladimir Putin’s army watched as the defenders exploded ammunition cache after cache. Finally, thousands of the invaders just panicked, abandoned their posts, and fled from the battlefront. Then, the Ukrainians’ military advanced.
Imagine a conscripted soldier watching all this. What would this do to the morale of those along the front? Putin’s military would know that they were just “cannon fodder.” This was supposed to be a training exercise, according to Moscow, but his soldiers soon learned that was a lie.
Then, the Ukrainian President announced that he would guarantee the fighters a respectful surrender, that he would treat them with dignity. Certainly, their own president had not. But could they believe Volodymyr Zelensky? Would he adhere to the Geneva Convention? Word among the troops was that they could indeed trust the comedian turned leader.
Putin has continued to feed the national TV propaganda machine, but his people must know that there is something terribly wrong in Ukraine. Even though Moscow brought portable crematoriums, they could not possibly keep up with the thousands upon thousands of fallen soldiers. U.S. estimates put the number at 80,000. Putin’s people see their family members go off to fight a “minor conflict” and never return. Do they know that the Russian military leaders just abandon the bodies of their loved ones where they fall?
When the invading soldiers panicked, they stole any vehicle they could grab to escape, according to The Washington Post. They have even left on bicycles.
Olena Matvienko lives in a village outside of Kharkiv that had been captured by the Russian troops, Zaliznychnyestood. Yet she was surrounded by “ammo crates and torched vehicles.” In the background, there was even a Russian tank. The escaping Russian soldiers donned stolen civilian clothing so that the Ukrainian drones would not attack them as they fled. Matvienko was stunned and said:
‘They just dropped rifles on the ground. They came into our houses to take clothes so the drones wouldn’t see them in uniforms. They took our bicycles. Two of them pointed guns at my ex-husband until he handed them his car keys.’
The Atlantic magazine described how the Russian soldiers differed from the Ukrainian military:
‘The fundamental difference between Ukrainian soldiers, who are fighting for their country’s existence, and Russian soldiers, who are fighting for their salary, has finally begun to matter.’
At last, the Ukrainian investigators from Kharkiv could come to remove their civilians who had been shot by the Russians. Many of them remained where they were felled “for months.”
Putin’s spokesperson Dmitry Peskov announced:
‘The special military operation continues and will continue until the objectives that were originally set are achieved.’
Spokesperson for the Ukrainian Armed Forces Natalia Humeniuk announced a surprising phenomenon:
‘[S]eparate [Russian troops were] trying to negotiate with the Ukrainians on surrender and transfer under the auspices of international law.’
The Guardian newspaper just reported over the weekend on a Ukrainian “big special disinformation operation.” For the first time, journalists were “banned from the front lines.”
The Ukrainians tricked the Russian military into bulking up its defenses around Kherson. Then, Zelensy’s army sprang its trap. The Ukrainians used HMARs rockets to blow up a critical supply route bridge across the Dnipro River. Until then, the river had been a natural barrier.
Kharkiv was the only significant Russian capture throughout its six-month invasion. For Putin:
‘[It] was the gateway to the port of Odessa, the city the Russians most craved. For the Ukrainians, control of Kherson would open the path to Crimea.’
What will Putin do next? Watch this space.
Featured image is a screenshot via YouTube.
In Gloria Christie Reports & Three White Lions Substack newsletters, Gloria Christie includes her week’s most important news/ commentary stories in the liberal online newspaper The Bipartisan Report. Gloria Christie Report her newsletters are for people on the go. Written in her own unique style with a twist of humor in a briefer version of Bipartisan Report. Christie’s Mueller Report Adventures In Bite-Sizes a real-life compelling spy mystery (in progress). Find her here on Facebook. Or at Three White Lions her book on Amazon Kindle Vella.
