The great embarrassment of Vladimir Putin

How big was this victory?

How it happened: For months, Kyiv has been telegraphing a big offensive in the south. Then it deployed the oldest trick in the book: the headfake. Its troops struck with lightning speed in the east instead—and claim to have regained 6,000 sq km of territory—about twice the size of greater London.

What’s worse: Russian troops just turned and ran at the face of the blitz—leaving behind precious military hardware. At least 338 pieces—from fighter jets to tanks to trucks—were destroyed, damaged or captured. This is not good news for a country struggling to replenish its supplies—buying hardware from the likes of Iran and North Korea.

See the clip of soldiers in a tank fleeing from the scene—which has since gone viral and been set to music:

So why are the Russians losing?

There are immediate reasons as to why they are losing ground in Ukraine—and there are deeper structural weaknesses that are more serious. Let’s start with the immediate reasons:

One: There was no Plan B. The Russians just assumed that they would be able to overwhelm Ukraine with their far greater military prowess. They were not prepared for a longer ground war—which requires strong logistics. For example: securing convoys of trucks carrying supplies on the ground. These soon ground to a halt and became easy targets for Ukraine:

“Badly led, Russian advances were abruptly halted as armoured columns were destroyed wholesale. Casualties rose sharply as tanks and trucks ran out of fuel, and soldiers ran out of food and ammunition. Armed formations were decimated by the powerful yet tactically nimble attacks by a Ukrainian military that had been expected to surrender on the first day but instead fought hard, inflicting a heavy toll on the invading Russians.”

Two: Weak military leadership. There is no single unified chain of command in the Russian military. As a result, Russian soldiers rarely knew what they were doing or why: