Expert: Even the evidence for the Russian army

After the withdrawal of Russian forces from Kyiv, many expected a full-scale battle in eastern Ukraine. According to Magnus Christianson, senior lecturer in military sciences at the Swedish National Defense College, in recent weeks Russia has mobilized large forces, mainly north of Donetsk and Luhansk, in order to conquer what Putin has declared Russian territory.

– Such a military objective is smaller, it is to reduce military ambitions much if compared to the time when this process began, says Magnus Christianson.

“until the proof”

He believes that Russia could bring between 60 and 70,000 men to the so-called encirclement of the region and stresses that Russia does not appear to have many other options.

According to him, Russia has learned from defeats outside Kyiv, and now it has, for example, better air defense and better logistics. At the same time, the Russian army has many shortcomings.

It’s up to the evidence for the Russian military and if you have the ability to carry out more complex military operations, says Magnus Christianson.

escalate the discourse

At the same time that Russia’s military ambitions appear to have waned, so has political rhetoric.

Magnus Christianson argues that how Russia bridges the gap between military ambition and political rhetoric will be crucial.

“What awaits Putin’s decision to pursue this is an economically destitute, diplomatically isolated, militarily weak Russia that has become increasingly dependent on its nuclear weapons in international politics and increasingly dependent on China,” he said.