Russia ‘short of troops’ as major military misstep exposed | World | News
Leonard T. Koonce
3 min read
Professor Michael Clarke has pointed out what he sees as a major mistake in Russia’s strategy for the war in Ukraine. The military expert believes that the number of troops needed to garrison captured towns in Ukraine, amid strong local opposition, led the Kremlin to “run out” of troops.
Professor Clarke told Sky News: “The problem with the Russians is that if you invade a country that doesn’t want you there, every time you capture somewhere you have to leave troops behind, you’re protected. .
“So the troops at the front of the push are getting thinner and thinner.
“So pushing gets harder the further you get from your base.
“At some point the Russians will start to run out of troops, strange as that may sound.”
When asked how long until Kyiv is completely surrounded, he replied: “Well, it’s hard to say, they’ve been working very hard so far.
“But we have to expect that in the next three or four days, let’s guess, Kiev will probably be surrounded and then the next phase of this pretty horrible war will start to unfold.”
Meanwhile, the United Nations human rights office said on Monday it had confirmed the death of 406 civilians, including 27 children, in Ukraine since the start of the Russian invasion on February 24, but it said said the true figure was likely much higher.
The latest figures from the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, which has an observation mission in Ukraine, cover the period from February 24 to March 6.
The figure compared to the 364 deaths confirmed in its report on Sunday.
The Russian Defense Ministry said it would open six humanitarian corridors in Kyiv and other Ukrainian cities, but Kyiv rejected the plan given proposed evacuation routes leading to Russian or Belarusian territory.
Russian shelling is preventing the evacuation of civilians from Kiev, Mariupol, Sumy, Kharkiv, Volnovakha and Mykolaiv, the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry announced on Monday.
“This prevents the safe passage of humanitarian columns with Ukrainian and foreign citizens, as well as the delivery of medicine and food,” he said in a statement.
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The ministry called on foreign leaders to force Russia to observe a ceasefire to prevent what it called a humanitarian catastrophe.
Civilians were able to be evacuated from the town of Irpin near the Ukrainian capital Kyiv without being fired upon on Monday, a day after people trying to flee were caught in Russian shelling, local officials said .
Ukraine negotiator Mykhailo Podolyak on Monday urged Russia to end attacks on civilians as he prepared to begin a third round of talks with Russian officials over Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine.
“In a few minutes, we’ll start talking to representatives of a country that seriously believes large-scale violence against civilians is an argument. Prove it isn’t,” he said on Twitter. .
