According to Britain’s Chief of Defense Staff Admiral Sir Tony Radakin, Russia’s mobilisation has revealed the growing strain the Kremlin is facing as its military forces exhibit “increasing fragility and frailty” in the conflict in Ukraine.
“Pressure points exist. The Russian military forces are rather fragile, Radakin told a select gathering of reporters in Washington.
However, Radakin emphasised that the war remained sluggish and that Ukraine was prepared to capitalise on Russian “pressure points” more fully over time. He did not foresee a quick collapse of the Russian military.
“The fundamental character of the struggle is one of grinding gains that are grabbed and expanded upon. You’re not noticing a significant change in the ratio of the two, he added.
His remarks come soon after Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday gave a 37-minute anti-Western tirade in Moscow before announcing plans to annex four areas of Ukraine, a move that was condemned as illegitimate by Ukraine, the United States, the European Union, and the head of the UN.
The four areas of Ukraine that Russia is annexing are only partially under its authority.
Putin was speaking while his troops were being ringed in the Ukrainian city of Lyman, 750 kilometres (460 miles) to the south, and Ukraine warned Moscow would have to make a plea to Kyiv if it wanted them to be allowed to leave.
According to Radakin, Putin’s comments, notably his heightened nuclear bluster, show how “weak and desperate” Russia is feeling.
He said, “And the speech grows more and more erratic.”
According to him, Ukraine still had more prospects in the northeast and east of the nation after launching a swift counteroffensive this month that allowed it to retake large portions of the Kharkiv area.
When asked if the Russian mobilisation had any effect on the Ukrainian military, Radakin responded, “In a military or tactical sense, none at all.”
The strain that Russia is facing has been disclosed, Radakin said, adding that the mobilisation of Russian soldiers had been ordered to bring bandages and winter clothes.
The mobilisation, he claimed, “was done in such a cack-handed, incompetent, and frightening fashion, that I don’t think it instilled any terror in the Ukrainian armed forces.”
And if anything, the fact that they are succeeding “adds to (Ukraine’s) motivation.”
