Analysis: Russia's road to victory in Ukraine has been blocked by angry civilians, its broken-down tanks dragged off (and mocked) by farmers in tractors, its soldiers targeted by surprisingly successful Ukrainian resistance.
Air power has also been lacking. Analysts like Muzyka assumed Russia would start the invasion by wiping out Ukraine's fighter fleet and its air defences to give Moscow free rein to protect its ground forces and launch attacks at will. It didn't.
"Russia and the Soviet Union have always been proud of themselves in having a very robust air capability. And what we are seeing now is completely opposite," said Muzyka. "I have no idea why this is happening." Weeks into the invasion, the U.S. Pentagon says Ukraine still has a significant part of its own air defence system, and the space over the country remains "contested." Russian helicopters have taken some spectacularSome Western analysts have warned against writing off Russia's bigger and traditionally stronger military, saying this war is far from over and expecting the Kremlin to learn from early mistakes.
But from what we know of its performance in Ukraine so far, Russia's conventional war machine appears to have stumbled, failing to live up to the expected image of a superpower. Many fear that out of desperation, Putin may turn to more drastic measures. He already has, killing civilians with imprecise bombing when his forces can't defeat military targets in
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