Putin losing

 Jeff Dunetz:

Once believed to be a fearsome fighting force fit for a world superpower, the reality of the Russian military’s losses and other Russian failures has created cracks in Putin’s power base.

CIA Director Williams Burns said Russia’s military has more issues than manpower after President Vladimir Putin ordered a mobilization of 300,000 reservists last week. Putin’s decision, which has sparked protests and attempts to flee the country, comes as Ukraine has liberated some Russian-held areas.

“Even if he’s able to mobilize 300,000 troops, it’s not as if throwing people like cannon fodder toward the front, many of whom are not going to be well trained, many of whom are not going to have the kind of equipment that they need or the logistical support that they need as well,” Burns told “CBS Evening News” anchor and managing editor Norah O’Donnell in an exclusive interview Monday. “His military has a lot of other problems; manpower is only one of them.”

He also has some concerns about Putin’s desperation:

Putin’s military mobilization appeared to be an acknowledgment that the war in Ukraine is not going according to plans. As he announced the move, Putin also hinted at the possibility of nuclear war.

“When the territorial integrity of our country is threatened, to protect Russia and our people, we will certainly use all the means at our disposal,” Putin said. “It’s not a bluff.”

Russia’s move to annex several regions of eastern Ukraine could be an attempt to create that nuclear pretext.   Putin could declare Ukrainian liberation forces as “invaders” seeking to usurp the aforementioned “territorial integrity.”

...

Putin is losing both inside Russia and outside.  The war in Ukraine has exposed Russia's conventional force weakness and the war itself has made that force much weaker with the loss of equipment and troops. Throwing 300,000 "reservists" at the failed operation is unlikely to succeed.  What the call-up had done is demonstrate how unpopular the war is in Russia as thousands of military aged men flee the country.  Russia is a much weaker military threat to NATO as a result of the war.

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