Russia faces "difficult fight" to retake Ukraine-held area, says top US spy
Russia faces "difficult fight" to retake Ukraine-held area, says top US spy
"We can be certain that Putin will mount a counteroffensive to try to reclaim that territory," Cohen said. "I think our expectation is that that will be a difficult fight for the Russians."
Putin, he said, "is not only going to have to face the fact that there is a front line now within Russian territory that he's going to have to deal with, he has to deal with reverberations back in his own society that they have lost a piece of Russian territory."
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The greatest thing about this is that Putin can’t just carpet bomb the areas to rubble like Russia does when attacking.
I am skeptical.
Remember, the area that Russia hit is area that Russia intends to annex; i.e. they want it to be part of Russia. If they're willing to hit that, I'm not at all sure that hitting area in Russia is off-limits.
Also, currently the area that Ukraine holds in Russia isn't terribly populated. I haven't been watching closely, but I think the largest was Sudzha.
It has a population of 5,127 people.
That's probably at least partly evacuated and not exactly a metropolis.
Russia is 100% about optics, what things look like is more important than how they actually are.
The optics for a) losing territory and b) bombing your own territory is not good. A good Tsar never loses ground, a good Tsar increases the size of Russia
you remember when the kursk sub went down? (i am really old) there was this babushka, ant they drugged her in front of everyone in the press conference, because she was freaking out, and they speak their mind, they fear nothing once their son or husband is dead or missing. they have nothing to lose.
its not like a karen, you see. its like a nurturing hero figure, a symbol.
and the only thing a russian man will defend TO DEATH against his motherland is his wife, or his babushka, or ANY babushka.
its a quite interesting cultural thing. I am serious, once the babushkas rise, its over for putin. sounds crazy, but its true.
Yep, the last time heads rolled in the USSR it was the babushkas who started it 😀
For those who may be doubtful:
thats what I meant! thanks!
exactly. if you watch recent russian state tv (those people who talk in a discussion round), you have the impression that they are at a loss of words, because what they are allowed to say contradicts what is happening.
You sure about that?
He absolutely would. I don't see why he would think he wouldn't?
Optics, everything in Russia must look Correct.
Like how they make laws so that their acts are “legal”. They do write them after the fact sometimes, but there is a law they can point to.
Putin didn't care about optics in Beslan or at the Dubrovka Theater. He can control what the media knows about this, and even if villages are destroyed he can just blame the Ukrainians.
Ask Chechnya how unwilling Russia is to raze their own cities.
Chechnya was independent at the time, you know.