The Wall Street Journal revealed that the recent defeats of Russian forces in Ukraine revealed important weaknesses in Russia's strategy that will negatively affect its internal and external image, amid warnings that Russian leaders will not accept the image of the defeated.

The newspaper stated that the Russian forces were forced to withdraw from Kyiv and other regions in northern Ukraine last April, as well as from the Donbass region, in addition to the recent withdrawal from Kharkiv to the east under the impact of the Ukrainian army’s strikes, at a time when the Russian authorities had begun distributing Russian passports. And opened schools applying the Russian curriculum in Kharkiv.

The newspaper quoted Thomas Graham, former director of the Russia Committee within the National Security Council under President George W. Bush, as saying that "Russia's reputation has suffered a major blow," adding that the Russian stumble in Ukraine will raise questions about Moscow's special capabilities and its ability to lead the global political stage as a superpower. .

As the opposition Ilya Ponomarev explained - the newspaper says - what is currently happening on the front lines confirms that the Kremlin is not able to achieve major victories, but there is no possible scenario for achieving anything that can be called a victory, he said.


strength leaves

And the "Wall Street Journal" indicated that Russia still occupies about a fifth of the area of ​​Ukraine, including the 7% that it occupied in 2014, and it continues to bomb cities, power stations and bridges with missiles, and also maintains its ability to significantly increase the number of its armed forces through mobilization. The mandatory move, a move that may not be popular enough, given that the Kremlin has previously confirmed that this step is not being considered.

The newspaper adds that Moscow also has a card on the use of tactical nuclear weapons, although this dangerous escalation would be fraught with unpredictable consequences for Russia itself.

She says that what Russia is suffering in the war on Ukraine has made some specialists talk about that the Russian military industry will pay a great price for what is happening, according to what the former commander of the US Army in Europe, Ben Hodges, said.

Ben Hodges added that when the United States "easily" destroyed military equipment in the two Gulf wars, Moscow justified this by the poor training and organization of the Iraqi army.

According to the newspaper, the new perception of Russia's weakness means that it will find itself with a smaller number of international partners and allies, at a time when it is facing tough Western sanctions that undoubtedly are gradually affecting its economy.


allies

On the other hand, China appears keen to provide no more than verbal support to Russia, while advanced Western weapons are pouring into Ukraine.

The "Wall Street Journal" quoted the founder of the "China and Globalization Research Center" in Beijing, Wang Huiao, as saying that the priority for China today is to end the conflict in Ukraine - which has disrupted the global economy - and not to help Russia, knowing that Beijing has repeatedly announced its support for Ukraine's sovereignty and unity. its lands.

Also, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko himself recently congratulated Ukraine on its independence day and wished it a "peaceful sky".

For India, which has refrained from criticizing Moscow over its war on Ukraine, the priority is to maintain access to Russian spare parts and ammunition, while also ensuring that Moscow does not back its big opponent China.


self-esteem

On the other hand, Moscow is keen to praise its military industry and the performance of its army in Ukraine, where Putin - the Wall Street Journal explains - has repeatedly boasted about Russian weapons that made it possible to achieve major victories in Georgia in 2008 and in the Crimea and Donbass in 2014, as well as in Syria.

The newspaper stated that the military force constituted a major source of domestic legitimacy for the Putin regime, especially after the contraction of the economy, which flourished in the first decade of his rule, before falling into a recession after 2014.

Moscow asserts that the "special operation" in Ukraine is proceeding strictly according to the plans that were drawn up for it, and described the "defeat of Kharkiv" as a planned redeployment to facilitate the "liberation of Donbass."

According to the newspaper, observers of the file warn that Moscow will not accept to appear weak and defeated, knowing that the war is not over yet, amid calls from pro-Russian fighters in the Donbass for President Putin to dismiss his generals and take command of the “holy war” himself, as Tsar Nicholas II did in 1915. Stalin in 1941, and other supporters even called on Putin to announce a mass mobilization of civilians to go to war or strike Ukraine with tactical nuclear weapons.