Russian troops 'are humiliated'… but they can still crush Ukraine

Russian troops ‘are humiliated’… but they can still crush Ukraine: Officials warn that Vladimir Putin’s forces are gaining territory and now outnumber defending soldiers three to one

  • A general known as ‘The Butcher’ overhauled the performance of the advance
  • Officials believe it will be hard to dislodge Russians from areas they have won
  • Russian forces launched a blitzkrieg on Ukraine’s second largest city, Kharkiv

Russian troops are being ‘ritually humiliated’ in Ukraine but they are still in a position to win the war, Western officials cautioned last night.

In their bleakest assessment of the campaign since the very first days, they admitted that Vladimir Putin’s forces were gaining territory and presently outnumber the defenders by three soldiers to one.

Moscow’s troops failed in their initial invasion objectives, with Ukraine inflicting a series of humiliating defeats on them.

The turnaround has come after a general known as ‘The Butcher’, who is a veteran of the Syrian campaign, overhauled the performance of the Russian advance.

Ukrainian servicemen fire a BM-21 Grad multiple rocket launch system, as Russia’s attack on Ukraine continues

Officials now believe that with such a numerical advantage, and more effective leadership, the Russians will be difficult to dislodge from the territory they have won.

But they said that many of the Russian units now targeting the east of Ukraine and the Donbas region had not had time to properly reconstitute after receiving a mauling in the failed advance on Kyiv. 

As a result, they were being fed into the new phase of the war in a ‘piecemeal’ fashion with limited impact, taking ‘relatively small amounts of terrain’.

One official said it may be driven by a desire by the Kremlin to secure a tangible success in time for the Victory Day parade in Moscow on May 9 marking the defeat of the Nazis in the Second World War. 

‘If President Putin is going to stand at the Victory Day parade, he will want to do so on the back of Russian forces not being ritually humiliated in Ukraine which has pretty much been happening so far,’ the official said.

‘I think that may have been a factor in their decision to commit their forces into the Donbas ahead of that force being entirely prepared.’

A Ukrainian serviceman works with a BM-21 Grad multiple rocket launch system

The warning came as Russian forces launched a blitzkrieg on Ukraine’s second largest city, Kharkiv, where one million remain trapped. 

In a televised address its mayor, Ihor Terekhov, described ‘huge blasts’ and said the city in north-eastern Ukraine was ‘being furiously bombed’, with many men, women and children feared dead.

But Ukrainian servicemen in the Kharkiv region fought back using weapons such as the BM-21 Grad multiple rocket launch system. 

In a boost to the Ukrainians, its troops reportedly destroyed at least two Russian fighter jets and an attack helicopter yesterday over eastern Ukraine. They may have been involved in the attack on Kharkiv.

A damaged Russian tank near a road in Zalisia village not far from Kyiv. Some cities and villages had recently been recaptured by the Ukrainian army from Russian forces

Azov Fighters continue to fight against Russian military machinery on the streets of Mariupol

Western officials also raised the chilling prospect of Putin’s troops returning to Kyiv for a second attempt to storm the capital.

They credited the reversal in Russia’s fortunes to General Aleksandr Dvornikov, who was made overall commander a fortnight ago. 

His takeover followed Russia’s failure to seize any major cities, its retreat from Kyiv, and the loss of 30,000 troops and hundreds of aircraft and tanks. 

Since then its use of drones, rocket systems and electronic warfare has been transformed – potentially providing Putin with a platform to claim victory.

‘This is a new chapter of the campaign and, despite his previous failures, Putin is still in a position to win,’ an official said. ‘Russia has concentrated sufficient force that if they use it intelligently they should be able to destroy a large part of Ukraine’s forces.’

UK hands 72,000 visas to refugees 

Almost 72,000 UK visas have now been issued to Ukrainian refugees, figures showed yesterday, but fewer than a third have arrived so far.

Official data showed more than 107,000 people applied for visas under two schemes, including 66,000 through the Homes for Ukraine sponsorship programme. It means there is still a backlog of more than 35,000 applications to process.

The sponsorship scheme – which allows British hosts to open their homes to Ukrainian evacuees – has issued 39,300 visas after painful start. Only 6,600 of those refugees have arrived in the UK so far. 

And under the family scheme – for Ukrainians with existing links to the UK – 32,500 visas have been issued, of whom 15,000 have arrived.

Officials believe some people applied for visas so they have the option of coming to the UK but are choosing to stay in countries bordering Ukraine so they can return home sooner. 

Others may have applied but then changed their minds, deciding to travel elsewhere.

And some will be waiting for everyone in their family to receive permission to travel letters or visas before they depart for the UK.

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