Meanwhile, in the Russian Federation itself, calls for the start of nationwide mobilization are getting louder and louder.
: Experts pointed out the reasons for the retreat of the Russian army from the Kharkiv region” />
When Russian forces retreated from northeastern Ukraine last weekend, Russian military bloggers and commentators who support the war knew very well who guilty of this. Vladimir Putin did not want to call up even more soldiers.
Russia is waging a war against Ukraine, but “we are doing it without involving the enormous capabilities of the Russian state,” Russian blogger Yuriy Kotyonok wrote on his Telegram channel.< /p>
“It is not possible to win by doing everything half-heartedly. The state must be mobilized for war and victory. This is the only way… Everyone must work: from the last to the first person. Everyone should focus on winning this war,” he added.
The retreat of Moscow's army from northeastern Ukraine has once again exposed the weaknesses of the Russian military machine and its shortcomings, in particular, in terms of manpower, morale, intelligence and command, writes the Financial Times. When Ukrainian defenders forced the invaders to retreat from the outskirts of Kyiv in late March, critics blamed the Russian high command and Putin's reluctance to announce a general mobilization. The reaction was the same now after the events in Kharkiv Oblast.
“We must honestly say that we were defeated in battle. The current defeat in Kharkiv is a consequence of the fact that until now the Ministry of Defense tried to ignore all the problems that were revealed in the first months of the war,” wrote Russian blogger Yuriy Podoliaka, who supports the war against Ukraine.
Read also: Fighting continues in the Kharkiv region – Malyar
Russian bloggers, some of whom maintain contact with the frontline troops, wrote about the build-up of Ukrainian forces near Balaklia as early as the end of August. But the Russian commanders, it seems, did not react to this and did not send additional forces there. Mykola Beleskov, an expert at the National Institute of Strategic Studies of Ukraine, said that Russia did not have a multi-level defense in the Kharkiv region after it sent troops from the region to the south in preparation for a Ukrainian counteroffensive. So when the Ukrainian army broke through the line near Balaklia, nothing could stop it. According to Beleskov, Russia sent 200-250 thousand soldiers to the war. According to US estimates, 70,000 to 80,000 have been killed or wounded since the invasion began on February 24. So the Russian army is stretched too thin along the front line, which stretches for 1,300 kilometers. In turn, Kyiv claims that it now has about a million armed soldiers at its disposal.
“The most important thing that the counteroffensive demonstrated is that Russia has real problems with soldiers. They are simply not there to hold this line,” said Philip O'Brien, a professor of strategic studies at the University of St. Andrews. г
Read also: Ukraine destroyed an elite military formation of the Russian Armed Forces in the Kharkiv region – British intelligence
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Russian troops have also weakened over time since the beginning of the invasion, when their strength was at its peak, the expert added. At this time, the Ukrainian army became stronger. It increased the number of well-trained troops and also received weapons from the West. Putin repeats that Russia is conducting only a “special military operation”. So unlike Ukraine, the Russian Federation is not officially at war. Because of this, Moscow should not send conscripts to the front. Instead, it tries to form volunteer battalions and relies on other forces, such as Rosgvardia. Also, the mass media reported that PMK “Wagner” is trying to recruit new mercenaries in Russian prisons and penal colonies.
“Russia lost the best parts of its army in the first weeks of the war. And what remains of these best parts is exhausted and over-exploited. Things are no less bad in the field of military materials: Russia has already lost too much advanced military equipment. And, unlike the Ukrainian army, it is doomed to increasingly use old and inefficient equipment, which it has a lot of,” explained Dmitry Minik, an expert on the Russian army at the French Institute of International Relations.
Read also: A significant part of Russian soldiers escaped from Kharkiv Oblast back to Russia – Pentagon
The haste with which Russian troops withdrew from the Kharkiv region last week, abandoning positions and equipment, including tanks, as well as ammunition depots, indicates a low level of morale. Several bloggers associated with the Russian military have complained about poor communication and difficulties caused by the hierarchical and bureaucratic nature of the Russian military. Podoliaka pointed to the lack of coordination between Russian aviation and artillery.
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But for commentators in Russia who support the war against Ukraine, the biggest problem is the lack of soldiers. Although Western experts say that if Russia even wants to mobilize more well-trained troops, it will take months. Mass mobilization was carried out only in the so-called “DPR” and “LPR”. There, men were caught just on the streets and sent to the front in a matter of days.
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