Russians sent to Ukraine risk becoming ‘cannon fodder’, expert says

Vladimir Putin’s troops are “grossly disorganized” and the 300,000 Russians recently conscripted to fight in Ukraine risk becoming “cannon fodder” for Russia, an expert judges.

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Justin Massey, a foreign policy expert at the University of Quebec in Montreal (UQAM), pointed out that Russian President Vladimir Putin wants to avenge the bombing of the Crimean Bridge, an infrastructure connecting Russia to the annexed peninsula, a few days ago.

One way to achieve this was Monday’s missile attacks that killed and injured dozens in Ukraine, including in Kiev.

“Vladimir Putin has suffered military defeats for days and weeks,” he said in an interview with LCN. He wanted to avenge this attack on a strategically and symbolically important bridge. […]. This is a tactical shift by Russia. They must react to Ukrainian forces taking over territory. They are completely disorganized. They do not have enough forces to counter this consolidation of Ukrainian strength, illustrated by all the weapons provided by America and Europe during the summer.

“It’s very sad, it’s punitive, said Justin Massey. We’re targeting children’s parks, apartments, hospitals. It’s not related to military targets. We’re aiming to punish and intimidate Ukrainians to limit their will to continue their struggle.

However, its outcome is unlikely to have the desired effect, he said.

“On the other hand, we see that it was a complete failure for the Russians, the professor of UQAM noted. […]. It unites Ukrainians to defend against the Russians.

Justin Massey pointed out that despite the 300,000 men conscripted into Russia, the military was struggling to get them to the battlefield, feed them properly, and supply them with enough weapons.

“We are sending them forward to compensate for the lack of military equipment due to the number of troops. [Les soldats] Basically becomes cannon fodder for the Russians.”