How the international media covered the Russian-Ukrainian war, April 9

According to The Washigton Post article, military professionals are astounished by the ineptitude of the Russian army. The article writes about 9 ways Russia botched its invasion of Ukraine, naming the biggest mistake the Russians made was misjudging the Ukrainians. This initial micalculation probably is realted to another failures of the Kremlin – not preparing their troops and not supplying them enough. For example, some newly drafted soldiers on the eastern front have been issued rifles first developed in the 19th century and out of production for decades. Failed logistics and inability to adjust it is another sign of lack of professionalism among Russian military. Failing to take out Ukraine’s air defenses and attacking on too many fronts are two another mistakes listed in the article. Moscow also failed to secure communications inside within their units, making it easy to intercept messages about locations of high-level units, including several generals who were later killed. Vertical decision making also played a trick with the russians, as troops are not empowered to adapt and make decisions in critical moments, losing precious minutes to await orders from their commanders (often over insecured lines). Lastly, the invaders were so delusional thinking they’d capture Kyiv within days, that they did not even have a plan B – another proof of the high incompetence of their military leaders.

Politico published a piece about Ukraine’s Commander in Chief Valeriy Zaluzhny, naming him the one to be credited for Ukraine’s military successes so far. While Zaluzhny is not a very public figure, he is epitomizing a new generation of Ukrainian officers, aspired to NATO standards and used to decentralized and agile way of warfare. The article writes that Zaluzhny had put a lot of effort to prepare for the invasion as by January 2022 he told NATO that Ukraine was ready. He was born in a military family, dreaming of becoming a soldier and building his career from the bottom. According to the artilce, Zaluzhny’s elevation to the top job was also a key part of an effort to restructure the leadership dividing operational duties and the planning responsibilities within the general staff. Over the years, the Chief Commander made no secret of his push for greater financing and other public support for the military. And during the war, his main request of political leaders has been to stay out of the way and let the soldiers do their work — and especially not to raise public doubts about the course of the war.

Despite multiple signs, many watchers in Russia and in the West refused to believe in the upcoming attack. The Guardian recalls history of Putin’s years in power trying to understand him and how he has fooled the world. Despite that Putin is a bully enjoying humiliation of people in front of audience, he became a kind of a hero for leaders in and outside of Russia. His fan club includes Rudy Giuliany (Trump’s adviser), Nigel Farange (leader of Brexit party), Matteo Salvini (former deputy prime minister of Italy), Rodrigo Duterte (president of Philippines) and most importantly Xi Jinping. Looking back at the first years of Putin’s presidency, he was looking relatively reassuring as he used liberal democracy rhetoric promising to protect freedom of speech and mass media. Later on he started to build a savior-hero image, for example using pictures of riding a horse or practicing judo. He later started speaking of USSR collapse as of the greatest tragedy of the 20th century and has begun to be preoccupied with the version of Russian history in which Ukraine was seen as part of Russian ethnicity. A landmark moment came with a speech Putin gave at the Munich Security Conference in 2007, which contained a direct challenge to the West and an expression of cold fury. Color revolutions in former soviet countries in early 2000 and the support they got from western leaders only strengethened Putin’s opposition to NATO and western values overall. While he occupied Crimea and attacked Donbas, the west continued to impose sanctions that ideally woudl have led to force Putin from power. At the same time, the chances of real coup or uprising are poor, as Moscow has developed a system of oppression any opposition or riots should such emerge. The difficult truth is that Putin’s strongman style has defined his rule over Russia – and despite his many crimes and misdemeanors, those same strongman tactics may preserve him in power for years to come.

The New York Times published an opinion column by a Pulitzer Prize winner Maureen Dowd, titled “Kim and Pete, or Vladimir and Volodymyr?”. The article explores fatigue from horrifying news from Ukraine and multiple distractions that could ease public attention and let people just move on. In a time of influencers, trends in social media are more important than the reason. Multiple distractions are there competing with what is important, and Putin’s alternative reality is also among them. Therefore, as we live in a world of trends, Maureen is wondering how long will solidarity with Ukraine last, as it should be a commitment and not a trend.