While speaking on Russia’s Channel 1, Russian military expert Vladimir Popov claimed Ukrainian forces fighting against Russia are “very strong and motivated”. Referring to the Russian advance, he discouraged Russian troops from entering big cities in Ukraine as he warned “[big cities] are too much to handle and we would risk major losses”.
Popov said: “Based on Ukraine’s representations of the way its forces are positioned on the Eastern front, there are up to 35 nationalist battalions.
“That is a very large force.
“[Ukrainian forces] are very motivated.
“You can’t change or convince them.
“We would risk major losses.”
He added: “Big cities are too much to handle without jeopardising our Armed Forces”.
The claims follow an update from UK Ministry of Defence, in which it was assessed that Russia’s airborne forces, known as the VDV, are now suffering “heavy casualties” in Ukraine after “tactic failures”.
MoD also communicated: “The failure to anticipate Ukrainian resistance and the subsequent complacency of Russian commanders has led to significant losses across many of Russia’s more elite units”.
