This entire invasion is already a disaster. Russia still has an advantage but they're taking unnecessary losses already.
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No Ukrainian city is encircled yet either. Kyiv can't run out of food when it's still safe for supplies to come into the city.
Russia needs to establish the basics, and haven't even done that yet.
EDIT: it's been like 3 days. It's too soon to expect Russia's military to have a big success yet. Russia's superior weaponry should have a relatively easy time but... Russia is basically trying to perform 4 or 5 simultaneous 'Battle of Fallujah's here simultaneously.
Just going all in on major cities around the country simultaneously, where most people in those cities really hate Russians right now.
All signs point to this IMO. Russians have failed in that attempt this far, but it's only day 3.
Ukraine has been routing or killing a lot of airborne / paratroopers in and around Kyiv (Russian VDV units). Russia really is going for a quick victory, committing so many airborne units there.
I do realize that this is a Ukrainian propaganda, but their claims are incredible: https://mobile.twitter.com/EuromaidanPress/status/1497643063...
7 aircraft shot down in a singular night, including 2x IL-76 MD just last night alone. Big, slow, 4-wing transport airplanes (carrying either 100+ paratroopers or heavy equipment to the front lines). These aren't drones they're shooting down, Ukrainians continue to threaten the logistical support Russia needs to feed the front lines.
We're no longer in "slightly higher cost" territory. We're in "Russians failed to disable Ukrainian's airforce and air-defenses... advanced _ANYWAY_ and are taking heavy losses" territory.
Yeah, Russia may win after this. But what's incredible... something completely unthinkable just a few days ago... is that the Ukrainians might actually win conventionally. Russia's failure to disable Ukrainian's air force is already a costly mistake, especially because Russia continues to advance despite being in a state of air-parity with the Ukrainians.
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I think the Ukrainian city of Kharkiv is in trouble however. But there's video proof of entire convoys being blown up (https://mobile.twitter.com/JimmySecUK/status/149757339550817...) on their way to Kharkiv, definitely proving that the Ukrainian Air Force continues to fly.
The ensuing Western-supported insurgency, under the name of either Zelenskyy the hero or Zelenskyy the martyr? Quite a bit more doubtful.
I'm not an experienced armchair logisticians, but it seems like at this moment: Russia can't bring in supplies to the airfields; Ukraine has anti-tank weapons that I'd expect to work well against supply convoys; Ukraine has a motivated population resistant to the Russians.
Maybe the route from Belarus, through the Chernobyl exclusion zone is short enough to avoid interruptions. And if Russia can establish operations at an airstrip, that changes a lot. The route from the south seems disruptable because there's a single bridge chokepoint. (But maybe temporary bridges are viable, again, no logistics experience).
It does seem unlikely and I can't confirm specifics but someone posted on another thread that the Ukranians or their allies have apparently disabled all the train lines from Russia to the border to frustrate Russian logistics.