4 days ago 6

Why Does Putin Have Every Reason to Believe Russia Holds Upper Hand in Ukraine Conflict?

There are two aspects to President Vladimir Putin’s confidence that Russia is more than capable of finishing the Ukrainian conflict on its own terms, military expert Ret. Col. Anatoly Matviychuk tells Sputnik.

1. Economical aspect.

Russia has proven that its economy can satisfy any and all the needs of the Russian Armed Forces. Meanwhile, Ukraine is completely bankrupt and cannot maintain its military without foreign aid.

2. Military aspect.

Soldier quality: Russia keeps fighting after mobilizing only 300,000 troops whereas Ukraine has a severe shortage after sustaining horrendous losses on the battlefield.

Military advantage. Russia has complete air superiority in the Ukrainian conflict zone and possesses superior firepower augmented by the ability to produce all sorts of shells, rockets and munitions - while Ukraine depends on shipments of ordnance from the West.

Arsenal renewal: Russia completely renewed its vast arsenal of tanks, adjusting it to the unified command and control system. Meanwhile, Ukraine fields a motley assortment of Western military hardware, some of which dates back to WWII, that cannot be upgraded on the battlefield and which leads to severe losses among Ukrainian troops.

Intel superiority: Moscow has total superiority in all forms of intelligence over Ukraine which completely depends on intel supplied by the West.

Command and control: Russia’s superior command and control capabilities allowed Russian troops to seize strategic initiative in the Ukrainian conflict zone.

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