Read also: Losses of invading Russian troops now exceed 55,000, Ukraine says
“Today, the capacity and capabilities of the Russian army is decreasing every day, both in terms of equipment and training of people,” Musienko noted, adding that Putin is still attempting to find a way to enable Russia’s military-industrial complex to counter Western weapons.
“They feel their backwardness in comparison with the West and the samples they have and the stocks they have,” Musienko said.
“They are running out, because if everything was as good as the Russian military-industrial complex reports about their defense enterprises, they would not ask for help from North Korea and Iran.”
Putin’s recent announcement of a “partial” mobilization, according to Musienko, indicates that the Russian military’s human resources are rapidly depleting.
“This is all a sign of the serious failures that Russia is suffering and continues to suffer on the battlefield,” he said.
Read also: Websites of major Russian airports hacked, displaying calls to evade mobilization
“Notably, the defeats in the battles for Kharkiv Oblast. We see how Russian troops, in fact, are now forced to go on the defensive in most areas, and not to attack, as planned by the Kremlin. Obviously, their forces are being depleted — there are fewer weapons, fewer people.”
According to Musienko, as of the beginning of the full-scale invasion on Feb. 24, Russia has deployed, according to various estimates, from 160,000 to 200,000 regular troops. However, Musienko believes that the losses suffered — over 50,000, or at least a third of that total — will not deter Putin.
“Putin is not going to stop because of his imperial manic ambitions for Ukraine, even at the cost of huge losses for Russia,” he said.
Read also: Latvia to refuse entry to Russians fleeing mobilization, says FM
“The truth is that this is Russia and Putin wants to fight Putin wants to fight to the last Russian, and all these decisions clearly demonstrate this. These are risky steps, steps of desperation.”
The reason for this desperation, Musienko explained, was the fact that Putin has nothing positive to offer Russian society, aside from war — which makes its critical for his political, and otherwise, survival.
Read also: About the death of Putin and his entire system
He also stated that newly-mobilized Russian troops will not possess modern weapons in sufficient quantities to challenge Ukrainian dominance, making them even weaker than the troops who are already fighting in Ukraine.
“We must understand that since Feb. 24 and even now those remnants in the east and south that are fighting against Ukraine are some of the most capable units of the Russian forces,” he said.
“And we see how these forces faced…a powerful and effective rebuff from the Ukrainian forces…That is, this is a combat-ready group that failed to achieve the strategic goals that were set for it.”
Read the original article on The New Voice of Ukraine
