NP - Ukraine offers stiff resistance to Russian invasion, bucking Putin's expectations

David Morris fqmorris at gmail.com
Fri Feb 25 00:41:04 UTC 2022


https://m.dailykos.com/stories/2022/2/24/2082182/-Ukraine-offers-stiff-resistance-to-Russian-invasion-bucking-Putin-s-expectations

Ukraine offers stiff resistance to Russian invasion, bucking Putin's
expectations

Last night, it seemed as if Russia [might] get its best-case scenario—quick
capitulation, as few reports of Ukrainian resistance emerged. Today, the
picture is quite different.

Report: [Ukrainian mechanized units successfully attacked enemy forces near
Kherson. They recaptured the bridge and setup defensive positions on the
left bank of Dnieper. - Deputy of Ukrainian Defense Minister]

Report:  [Ukrainian woman confronts Russian soldiers in Henychesk, Kherson
region. Asks them why they came to our land and urges to put sunflower
seeds in their pockets [so that flowers would grow when they die on the
Ukrainian land]]

The left bank is the side with Kherson. If Ukraine truly does hold it, it
means Russians on the other side are either destroyed and/or isolated from
their supply lines

Russian troops crossed into Chernihiv with minimal resistance, but seems to
be having a rougher go of it pushing south. It is here that Ukraine scored
a huge propaganda victory:

Report: [An entire reconnaissance platoon of the 74th motorized rifle
brigade has surrendered to the Ukrainian army near #Chernihiv
<https://twitter.com/hashtag/Chernihiv?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1496887095931064323%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.dailykos.com%2Fstory%2F2022%2F2%2F24%2F2082182%2F-Ukraine-offers-stiff-resistance-to-Russian-invasion-bucking-Putin-s-expectations&src=hashtag_click>,
the Ukrainian army's commander-in-chief, Valerii #Zaluzhnyi
<https://twitter.com/hashtag/Zaluzhnyi?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1496887095931064323%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.dailykos.com%2Fstory%2F2022%2F2%2F24%2F2082182%2F-Ukraine-offers-stiff-resistance-to-Russian-invasion-bucking-Putin-s-expectations&src=hashtag_click>,
has said.]

More importantly, Ukrainian forces repelled the occupation of the
Hostomel airport just miles from Kyiv held by elite Russian paratroopers.
Airborne operations are fraught—you are dropping lightly armed troops with
no way to resupply in the middle of hostile territory. It’s chilling to
think that the Russian paratroopers you see in this video are now all
likely dead:

Report: [Breaking: @mchancecnn
<https://twitter.com/mchancecnn?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1496849053824471041%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.dailykos.com%2Fstory%2F2022%2F2%2F24%2F2082182%2F-Ukraine-offers-stiff-resistance-to-Russian-invasion-bucking-Putin-s-expectations>
with Russian forces at the Antonov airport about 15 miles outside of Kyiv.
"These troops you can see over here, they are Russian airborne forces. They
have taken this airport"]

It’s hard to over-stress just how important this kind of victory is for
national morale. Wars are won and lost based on morale and a willingness to
fight. The more stories of heroism they can broadcast, the stiffer the
resolve for those doing the fighting, and dying, against a superior armed
enemy.

Russia also faces a difficult situation in Kharkiv, which is one of those
four fronts, in northeast Ukraine, between the main northern push toward
Kyiv and the long-contested Donbas region.
Kharkiv is just across the Russian border, and should’ve been easy
pickings. But it’s holding out despite horrific missile and artillery
barrages.

I know this kind of artillery system well. It was my job when I was in the
Army. I wouldn’t wish anyone or anything to be on the receiving end.
Civilians are forced to cower in the subway system
<https://twitter.com/WW32022/status/1496937955428028417?s=20&t=UqoLrrgaQ2Qmy3FB-jhwpg>
for
protection. And yet somehow, Kharkiv remains in Ukrainian hands. Just as
encouragingly, to its north, the border town of Sumi continues to be
heavily contested.

Sumi is also on the Russian border. Russia’s inability to push deeper into
Ukraine in this region suggests that Moscow is certainly getting stronger
resistance than expected. This has to be dramatically building resolve
among Ukrainian defenders. And on a more tactical level, this takes
pressure off Kharkiv’s defenses, which would otherwise be in danger of
being surrounded.


This is Day One, just the first salvo of what will likely be weeks of
Russian waves. Remember, Russia had nearly 200,000 combat troops
surrounding Ukraine, and by all indications, only a small fraction of that
has been committed.

But if Putin expected to be welcomed as a liberator (quite possible, like
George W. Bush in Iraq), that certainly didn’t happen. And at least for
now, Ukraine is holding firm against unspeakable odds.

Never underestimate the power of morale—the longer Ukraine holds firm in
key towns, the better it rallies the populace and the rest of the country’s
defense forces. Meanwhile, the opposite is true for Russia, with conscripts
suddenly finding themselves facing their ethnic kin after weeks of hearing
Putin say that Russia had no plans to invade.

This isn’t Chechnya, where they were killing Muslims. It’s a much harder
sell pitting neighbors against neighbors. And unlike China, there is no
great firewall keeping out alternate viewpoints. They all have phones. They
can watch the videos and photos. No one wants to be a POW
<https://twitter.com/Anne__Boonchuy/status/1496887117414289413?s=20&t=UqoLrrgaQ2Qmy3FB-jhwpg>.
Putin wanted a quick and decisive victory, one that would prevent internal
dissent from crystalizing, both among military ranks and the general
populace. That may still happen! Some western observers are predicting Kyiv
will fall in a matter of hours or days. But there still appears to be
plenty of fight among regular military units.


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